


Lay a Strong Enough Foundation (We'll Pass it On to You)

by taetaenoway



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, just borrowed their characters really, no need to know the fandom, slight Blue Exorcist crossover, slight Haikyuu!! crossover, slight Yuri!!! on Ice crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2018-10-19 23:44:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 47,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10650567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taetaenoway/pseuds/taetaenoway
Summary: Furihata could pinpoint the exact day his world started to fall apart. He was seven years old.Furihata's life has always been a mess. He knows it, he's used to it, and he doesn't want anyone else to feel obligated to deal with it. So when the imposing Rakuzan captain finds out his situation and (for some unfathomable reason) wants to help, he's not sure how to react. He doesn't need anyone's help, especially with the Generation of Miracles attempting to get involved now.  Because he's fine. Really. He's fine.





	1. I'm Dedicating Everyday to You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter/story titles are indeed from the Broadway musical, Hamilton, aka my life and soul. The titles for this story and chapter are from Dear Theodosia. 
> 
> Warning: This story contains multiple slight crossovers, but really I just borrowed the characters because I didn't want to make OCs. Hope that's not too problematic for anyone. If it is, well, you were warned.
> 
> Warning #2: This story also contains mentions/references to dark themes such as child abuse/neglect, suicide, alcoholism, and more, especially in the first chapter! This story is about a boy living under poor family circumstances, and his life will reflect them. It's mainly about recovery/getting through those tough times, and is not too terribly graphic. However, if this makes you uncomfortable, I am sorry and know y'all have been warned!

Furihata wanted to scream.

He wanted to let it all out and hold nothing back. He wanted to shout at the top of his lungs every second of his life. He wanted to beg his aunt and uncle to keep breathing for the children they left behind. He wanted to cry every time he thought of his mother. He wanted to punch and kick a wall every time he saw his father, since he couldn't do it to the actual man. He wanted to run after his brother that left. He wanted to plead to whatever God that was out there for this life to just be over. He wanted to pray for someone to protect his baby brothers and cousins from the horrors of the world.

Nothing in his life had ever gone right. Not since he was a little boy—a time that seemed so long ago, so distant, that he could barely remember what it was like. He could barely remember what it was like to smile genuinely without anything bothering him. He could barely remember what it was like to live every day of his life not expecting the worst. It was hard to believe that, once upon a time, he was completely and utterly happy and carefree. It seems like an impossible dream nowadays. 

 

-.-

 

Furihata could pinpoint the exact day his world started to fall apart. It was also a couple months before the last time he was ever genuinely happy. He was seven years old. His mother didn't come to pick him up from school that day, and he had to wait for his brother, Ryuu, to get out from the middle school. His brother was very angry—something Furihata didn't understand why at the time. He figured it was because Ryuu had to miss baseball practice or something. Looking back, Furihata thinks he knows the answer now.

 When he got home that day, he was shocked to find his father there as well. His father was always at work until late. Furihata could hardly remember the last time he ate dinner with the man. This was yet another hint that something was terribly wrong, and he was anxious to find out what. 

 His mother—who had been sitting at the table looking utterly distressed—burst into tears and declared she was pregnant.

 At the time, Furihata didn't understand why she was crying. He didn't understand why his father stormed out of the room, or why his brother called her bad words. Because Furihata was honestly happy about it. He was going to be a big brother. What wasn't there to happy about? Why was everyone so upset? Was having three kids a bad thing? The boy desperately wanted to ask all these questions, but thankfully from a young age he had developed a survival instinct that told him to keep his mouth shut.

 Ryuu explained to Furihata a couple days later why the baby was a bad thing. "The baby wasn't made by mom and dad, Kouki. Mom couldn't keep on her pants and that baby belongs to someone else," he had said harshly. Since Furihata was seven at the time, he didn't quite understand how the birds and the bees actually worked, but he was smart enough to pick up what was being told to him. The baby was going to be his mother's baby, but it wasn't his father's. 

 That fact didn't make Furihata love the incoming child any less—in fact, it probably made him love it more. Because while the baby couldn't be his father's child, it could still be Furihata's sibling. He was still going to be a big brother, and he was determined to be the best one ever. He helped his mother clean around the house, make dinner every night, did the dishes, washed the laundry, and eventually took on every chore in the house by himself. He'd tell his mother to sit down and rest, and she was happy to oblige. Her stomach was already pretty big for someone who was barely two months apparently, and this heavy baby was taking a lot out of her. 

 Or babies, as they learned a couple weeks later when his mother went to the doctor. 

 The news of twins seemed to make the strain in the family relationship even worse. Furihata remembered his brother commenting that he was surprised their father hadn't left yet. Furihata really wished Ryuu would stop saying things like that. He didn't want his father to leave; his mother was unhappy enough as it was, and it was apparently not good for the babies' health. He just wanted everyone to smile again. He just wanted them to be a family again. 

 

-.-

 

The months passed. Furihata found that he was actually pretty good at "motherly chores" and other like tasks. He enjoyed cooking, and cleaning kept his mind off everything that was bothering him. Best of all, as a reward for helping, his mother would usually let him lay his head on her stomach and listen to the twins. He could feel them move, and if he tried hard enough, he could hear two quiet yet distinct heartbeats. 

 They didn't know gender. His mother claimed she wanted it to be a surprise, but Furihata assumed they couldn’t afford to go find out. It was no secret she wanted girls though. She would randomly come home with little dresses and hair bows in every shade of pink possible. She even had names decided.

 "The oldest one will be named Rina, so it starts with the same letter as Ryuu. The younger one will be named Yuki. She has the same ending as you, Kouki," he remembered her saying one day, with an actual smile on her face. His mother's mood would always improve when she talked about what life would be like for the two girls: Rina would be the most beautiful and sought after girl in school, while Yuki would be number one in her class. No one in the family, not even Ryuu, had the heart to tell their mother that her daydreams were getting a little out of hand. That they hadn't seen the babies yet, that they don't know what they are like and won't know for a long time. They don't even know if they really are girls.

 Furihata prayed that at least one of them was. Because his mother was almost happy again. And his father made appearances more often. And Ryuu kept his harsh words to a mumble. 

 They were becoming a family again.

 

-.- 

 

The twins came just after Christmas, and it was undoubtedly the best Christmas gift Furihata had ever received. He was bubbling with excitement, he just wanted to see his younger siblings now, to call their names, and to tell them that their big brother would protect them. 

 But then his mother was crying. She was crying the same way she had when she announced she was pregnant. 

 The twins were both boys. 

 

-.-

 

His mother was too distraught to take the fresh newborns. His father was at work. Ryuu had been at a friend's house when their mother went into labor and said he didn't want to come up. It was just Furihata himself to look after his newborn brothers. So he snuck down to the nursery and persuaded the nurse to let him see the twins. 

 "The babies probably won't look like us," he remembered Ryuu telling him once. "Since mom slept with another man, they're probably going to look like freaks next to us—with red hair or purple eyes. They aren't going to fit in this family, not even physically."

 However, the nurse led him over to two babies sleeping side by side: one with black hair just like Ryuu, and the other with brown hair not much darker than Furihata's. He felt like crying because that was one obstacle out of the way. It didn't matter who made the twins; they looked like a family. 

 From that day forward, Furihata swore that the twins were his. He was the one who picked their names (though he stayed close to his mother's first pick to keep her somewhat happy). The elder one with midnight black hair was named Rin, and the younger one with chestnut brown hair was named Yukio. He skipped school so he could be by his brothers' sides constantly, even when visitor hours were over—the nurses really liked him and always let him stay. 

 They went home after three days at the hospital. His mother refused to look at the twins the entire time. His father, surprisingly, had bought formula so the twins could eat. Ryuu helped move the cribs from their parents' room to Furihata's before bluntly stating that the babies better be quiet or else. He stomped away, leaving Furihata alone with the twins. The young boy winced at the sound of the door slamming and was grateful that Rin and Yukio were very quiet babies. 

 He learned a lot of things during his short time at the hospital; he learned the basics, like how to feed a baby a bottle. and how to change its diaper. Though most importantly, he learned little quirks about his baby brothers that were only noticeable if someone was really paying attention (and the twins were all Furihata paid attention to). Yukio was the needier out of the two, while Rin didn't like being left alone longer than a couple of hours. Rin liked to sleep without a blanket, while Yukio would get freezing cold in seconds without one. When Yukio cried, it was because he wasn't feeling good. When Rin cried, it was usually because he wanted to be held. Even though they were barely three days old, Furihata felt like he knew so much about them. 

 So as he sat in bed, alternating feeding them, he couldn't help but think about their future like his mother did (though he swore to not take it to extremes like she did). Rin seemed to be the stronger twin, but at the same time the more vulnerable one. Yukio was very needy, but that was all. He never took more than what he needed. It was amusing to Furihata how distinctly they acted at such a young age. He could see Rin as one of those boys that always acts tough but really isn't. He can see Yukio being more nerdy, but having big dreams. He stared down at their ethereal faces and smiled a wide, gentle, genuine smile. 

 That was the last time Furihata felt pure happiness. 

 

-.-

 

Two years passed. Furihata was nine when his life reached the climax before its steep downhill slope. 

 It started with a phone call. It was a Sunday. His mother was sleeping. His father was at work. His brother was...somewhere. (Ryuu had been disappearing a lot more often lately. He got some new friends that Furihata didn't like. They always acted weird when they came over, and they smelled like smoke and other nasty things. Furihata always made sure to hide the twins when they were around.) Furihata was in the kitchen with the twins. They were so big now. He worried at first for Yukio: he was showing serious health problems and his family wouldn't do anything about it. Furihata tried to do his best by researching the possible illness and cure, but he had been only seven at the time. There was only so much he could do.

 Yukio was strong, though. He pulled through and was just as healthy as his troublemaking brother. Rin was a little too accident prone for a two-year-old, but he always meant well.  They were the best little brothers anyone could ask for. 

 He answered the phone. On the other end was a man asking for his parents. Furihata said they weren't available. Even though his mother was home, she hated more than anything being woken up during her naps. The man asked him to rely a message regarding his extended family, the Hinatas. Furihata said he would and hung up, feeling very perplexed. He didn't know of any other family members. He had assumed he did have uncles and aunts and cousins and grandparents somewhere—after all, all the other kids at school did. His parents just never mentioned them. 

 He told his mother what the man said when she woke up an hour later. Immediately she started panicking and throwing a fit. She had been doing that a lot more often lately; ever since the twins were born, in fact. It was a little annoying because her panic attacks always made the twins upset. And the twins being upset made Furihata upset. And when Furihata was upset, there was chaos because no one else in the house could take charge. 

 It turns out the Hinatas was the family his mother's sister married into. His mother and her sister had apparently never seen eye-to-eye when growing up. It got worse when their parents passed away when they were in college. The sisters hadn't seen each other since the funeral.

 Though despite their estrangement, Hinata Sayuri's dying words were to send her children to live with her sister. Sayuri and her husband had been in a fatal car accident that day, his father explained with a deep scowl when he got home. Her husband died on impact and Sayuri was alive long enough to tell this to a paramedic. 

 That's how, three days later, the Furihata family came to adopted Hinata Shouyou and Natsu.  

 Shouyou and Natsu looked freakishly alike for siblings. They both had vibrant orange hair and large brown eyes. Shouyou was six years old while Natsu was only about six months. Shouyou was a very exuberant boy that was extremely loud and playful and loved by all—at least, that's what the Social Service lady said. Shouyou wasn't very loud and playful when he came to their house. He barely whispered hello and kept his focus completely on his baby sister Natsu.

 Furihata felt empathy towards the lost little boy. He mentally swore to protect them too. 

 

-.-

 

It was funny. With the twins, there was a worry that they would look different, and then they wouldn't appear as a family. Instead of the twins changing the family image, however, it ended up being their adopted ginger haired cousins. 

 Ryuu hated them for it. It was almost like he had been holding onto the fact that since they looked alike, they were a family. It made Furihata want to laugh.

 As if they could ever be considered a family. 

 

-.-

 

When Furihata was in grade four, his teacher asked everyone to create their own family crest and motto. She said that many great families have one, and that she wants all of her students to have one too. She was weird like that.

 She started going around to help the students who were stuck on what to do. When she came to Furihata and found his paper still blank, he politely and vaguely told her that there was simply no proper way to represent his family. 

 "Well I have an idea!" she had declared after a few moments of brainstorming. "You just recently took in your cousins, right?"

 Furihata nodded quietly. If by "recently" she meant a year, and by "took in" she meant abandoned in Furihata's care alone, then yes. 

 "Then your family motto can be 'We watch out for our own' since you adopted your cousins so quickly!"

 Furihata almost laughed. If only she knew.

 It did give him some inspiration, though. He can still remember the shock on her face when he turned in a paper with a crudely drawn red crest and the words: "We watch out for our own selves!" on it. 

 

-.-

 

It wasn't long until the next travesty happened. He was eleven at the time.

 He never saw the body. He had been at school when it happened. Ryuu, however, had been skipping school with some of his friends that day. They found her hanging from the ceiling. 

 The police came and pulled him out of class to tell him what had happened. They sat him down and tried to be as clear yet delicate with the situation as they could. They weren't going to lie to Furihata, but they had the decency to come off sympathetic. They did their best, but it wasn't an easy task trying to tell an eleven-year-old boy that his mother had committed suicide. After all this, the principal asked the boy how he was feeling, and if he wanted to talk to anyone about this. 

 Furihata merely looked her in the eye and stated, "Where are my brothers?"

 Because Furihata had to always look out for his little brothers since he knew no else would. Not Ryuu, and definitely not his father. His mother had gotten better ever since they adopted Natsu and finally had a baby girl in the family, but Furihata still didn't trust her completely. And if she was dead, then it was all up to him. 

 The police officers went quiet at the question and that's when Furihata finally started to panic. He didn't need to ask about Natsu—his mother loved her so much that he knew she was safe. His mother would spend her dying breath doting on her niece. She didn't, however, love the twins, even if she'd pretended at times. Furihata never believed her even when she begged him to trust her and let her be the mother. He ignored her when she yelled at him and demanded he give her the twins because those were her babies. He only let her close when he had no choice. He was smart enough to know that no 'loving mother' would refuse to hold her babies at birth. 

 So while he entirely and truly believed that Natsu was okay, he feared for his little brothers. His fear was, unfortunately, rightfully placed. 

 An officer began to explain that his mother, before she hung herself, had given Rin and Yukio some pills that, while normally doesn't affect older people in small doses, have disastrous effects on children. He said more after that, but Furihata wasn't listening. His brain was clouded with grief, rage, horror, and utter distress; so much so that he just started blocking out the world around him. He threw a fit—an action almost too similar to his mother for his liking—and none of the officers or school staff members could calm him down. He knocked over the chair, threw books, tore up papers, and kicked at anyone who got close. How dare his mother take his brothers with her? They were not hers to take, nor had they ever been! Not once did she breast feed them, or put them to bed, or care for them when they cried. It took months to persuade her to change their diapers! For all four years of the twins' lives, not once was she there for them. They were not her children, no matter who birthed them! She never earned the right. 

 He heard an officer say something about sedating him, and that's when Furihata finally recollected himself. He stopped throwing a fit and resorted to sobbing. The same officer from before started to explain that the twins were still both alive when the paramedics got there, and that they were in the hospital being taken care of as they spoke. It took some attempts, but Furihata finally stopped crying long enough to demand he be taken to them. 

 The officers looked a little reluctant, but wisely didn't object. They were probably worried Furihata would throw another fit if they said otherwise. 

 The officers stopped to pick up Shouyou along the way. (Shouyou still attended the same elementary school as he did before his parents died. It was the government’s pathetic attempt to minimize the change in the boy's life.) The ginger was a sobbing mess—though Furihata probably didn't look much better—as the police officers awkwardly shuffled the boy into the car. Shouyou immediately clung to his older cousin's side. Furihata returned the desperate embraced and whispered reassuring words in the ginger's ear. The elder was very grateful that his mother loved Natsu and left the baby girl alone. Furihata wasn't sure Shouyou could handle a loss like that. 

 No one else in his family was at the hospital when he got there—not like Furihata cared. He went straight into the room where they were keeping Rin. The nurse said that Yukio was still in recovery and couldn't have visitors at the moment. Furihata easily picked up on the ominous tone in her voice, but he tried to keep it from affecting him. Instead he pulled up a chair beside Rin's bed and clung to the boy's hand like it was a lifeline. Shouyou had taken Natsu from the Social Service woman and the two were passed out on the couch. 

 A nurse came in a few hours later and said it was time to leave. As much as Furihata wanted to object and stay by Rin's side, he knew he wasn't going to win this battle. Instead he asked for an update on Yukio. The nurse said that his youngest brother was stable for now, but they were going to keep him and Rin overnight to be sure.

 His father made an appearance long enough to pick Furihata and his cousins up. He never went in to check on the twins. Ryuu was still missing. Probably off getting drunk and having sex with a stranger. (Yes, Furihata now understood the birds and the bees, thanks to all the girls—and occasionally guys—Ryuu brought home at night.)

 They couldn't go back to the house that night. The police were still trying to clean up and it was blocked off with offensive yellow tape that Furihata had the urge to rip to shreds. They wouldn't even let them go in and grab some clothes, just in case they saw something the police hadn't taken care of yet. Instead, an officer grabbed what they needed. As he handed Furihata small backpack, he leaned down and whispered in the boy's ear.

 "There's a letter in there for you. It's from your mother. Technically, I should be taking it as evidence for the official report, but I felt it best that we left it untouched."

 Furihata tried to remain passive throughout the whole ordeal, but on the inside a storm was brewing. His mother not only tried to take Rin and Yukio—whom he loved more than anything in the world—from him, but she had the audacity to leave a note to explain herself. He felt a rage boil up inside of him and he wanted to explode. But then Shouyou grabbed his hand and looked up at him with desperate eyes and Furihata felt all the anger dissipate. Because no matter how wroth he wanted to be, or how much he just wanted to be selfish, he couldn't. He couldn't think for himself because that's all his father, mother, and brother ever did. He could never be selfish because he had Yukio and Rin and Natsu and Shouyou to worry about. So he squeezed his younger cousin's hand, gave him a weak smile, and tried to act like everything was okay.

 That's all he could ever do.

 

-.-

 

They went back to the hospital the following morning. The doctor told them that, while the boys could leave that afternoon, Yukio was going to need to start taking a special medication. The pills his mother had given him had caused damage to the boy's heart. The doctor assured them that Yukio would be fine as long as he always took his medicine. It wasn't outrageously expensive stuff either, thankfully. But it was still another bill Furihata knew his father didn't want to pay.

 However, Furihata didn't care. He had his baby brothers back and that's all that mattered. 

 

-.-

 

After the funeral, the police finally said they could go back home. They, like everyone else, offered their condolences before they left. Furihata wanted to barf, he was so disgusted by it all. All day he had countless strangers come up and say how they were 'sorry for his loss' and offered to 'help in any way they can'. They talked about how his mother was such a great woman and how she would be missed. He'd just nod and stay quiet when really he wanted to shout at them for their ignorance. Did they forget what she had done to Yukio and Rin? She tried to kill them! And that was only the start of what she's done. If only these people knew the truth. But they couldn't. No one ever could. 

 Not if he wanted to keep what was left of this family together. 

 After his mother's suicide, the Social Services had been snooping around at lot more lately. While they had every reason to do so—their family wasn't exactly one that would pass any regulations—Furihata wished they would just go away. There was only so much faking he could do on his own. It's not like his family was helping him. 

 His father was still working. He had always been working, but he worked even more now often to compensate for the funeral costs and Yukio's medicine. Furihata wasn't sure if he should be thankful for his work or annoyed that it made his father look neglectful. 

 Not that he wasn't. The Social Services just didn't need to know that.

 Ryuu, like usual, wasn't any help. He actually laughed when Furihata asked for him to help take care of their younger siblings and cousins.

 "Don't get me wrong, Kouki," his brother had said. "I don't want those people to send me away to some crap foster home either. But I'm gonna escape this place soon enough anyways, so it doesn't really matter to me. And since I still care about _you_ , Kouki, I would recommend you do the same." 

 Furihata would never do the same. Unlike his brother, he didn't get to be selfish. He couldn't run away even when deep down he desperately wanted to. He had his younger siblings to worry about first. It didn't bother him at Ryuu was planning on running away. Not only was he almost eighteen years old and entirely capable of making his own decisions, but his presence wouldn't really be missed anyways. He was barely around as it was. Plus, if Ryuu leaving meant the people his brother associated with would be gone, then Furihata would be more than happy to show him the door. He could take care of Shouyou, Rin, Yukio, and Natsu on his own. 

 He always had been.

 

-.-

 

With lots of manipulation and begging, the Social Services finally started to leave the Furihata family alone. He was relieved. He told himself and his siblings that everything would be fine.

 Everything most definitely wasn't fine.

 The course of the following year was a constant nightmare. Not long after the Social Service's stopped snooping their noses into everything, Furihata's father started to work more and more, yet at the same time their financial situation became less and less. They never had much money in the first place, but they had always gotten by. But now they weren't even able to pay the bills. Furihata, not even twelve years old yet, started working odd jobs just to pay for food and Yukio's medicine. 

 Their house got foreclosed on. They had to move into a tiny, one-bedroom apartment on the very wrong side of town. All seven remaining family members (Ryuu had yet to run away like he swore he would) were forced to live under one very small roof. 

 Every night, as Furihata fell asleep on the cold floor surrounded by his younger siblings, he tried to tell himself that chasing off the Social Services was the right thing to do. That they were better together than separated in random foster homes. 

 He continued to tell himself this even after the first night his father came home stupid drunk. It was a little over a year after his mother's death. His father normally just crashed on their sad excuse for a sofa the moment he got home. Everyone else is already asleep at that time. He's also normally gone before anyone can wake up. Very rarely does Furihata ever see his father. 

 That night, however, his father stormed in grumbling nonsense. He slammed the door so loudly it woke everyone up. Natsu started crying immediately. It made his father a lot angrier. He slammed his stuff on their tiny kitchen table with a bang and started screaming profanities at the children. 

 This only made Natsu cry louder. Her crying upset Shouyou. The twins read into the situation and started to panic as well. Furihata tried to calm them down but he was at a loss. He had a lot of experience with drunk people thanks to Ryuu and his friends, but none of them ever got angry. The acted stupid and did weird things and were certainly not trustworthy people when drunk, but they were never downright filled with rage. More so just the desire to have sex. 

 Ryuu, upon waking up and seeing the situation, actually tried to help out. Maybe it was because Ryuu actually seemed a little scared. His brother had never come off as scared before. He never cared enough for anything to scare him. He tried to talk their father down, but the old man wouldn't listen. They started shouting at each other, and now all of Furihata's younger siblings were crying. Furihata wanted to cry as well, but instead he got up and tried to help his older brother. He begged his father to quiet down and go to bed. His father demanded he shut up his siblings first. Furihata tried to explain that they wouldn't calm down until their father did, but he never got to finish. One moment he was desperately trying to appease his drunken father, and the next he was on the floor. 

 His cheek stung really bad, and he wasn't entirely sure what had happened. He kind of remembered seeing his father raise his hand before he struck, but not really. All that he did know was that his face hurt really bad, and that his younger siblings were still crying. 

 He felt a hand on his shoulder. Ryuu was standing over him. He looked infuriated as he shouted at their father. The old man slammed his fist into the table before storming out of the apartment. 

 The moment he was gone, Ryuu picked Furihata up off the floor and started inspecting his younger brother's face. Ryuu looked so angry yet so scared. Furihata had no idea how to respond. 

 His brother, who normally slept off on his own, actually joined all of his younger siblings on the floor in the lone bedroom. He slept next to Furihata in the middle and held his younger brother close all night. Furihata just let him, even though he was a little freaked out by the sudden change in behavior. 

 He was half asleep when it happened, but Furihata could have sworn he heard Ryuu whisper late at night, 

 "Why won't you just run, Kouki? Run before you get hurt too much."

 

-.-

 

Ryuu finally left over a year later. It was a couple weeks before Furihata turned fourteen. 

 It was late at night. Their father came home drunk like he did so often these days. Immediately, Furihata took his younger siblings into the bathroom and locked the door while Ryuu got up to deal with their father. It was a routine they had developed early on. Ryuu had forbidden his little brother from dealing with their father ever since the first night. Furihata wanted to argue that he wasn't as weak as his brother thought he was; that he could deal with their angry father just fine. Though someone had to watch over the younger kids, and because of that, Furihata hid.

 It was strange, however. Ever since their father started coming home drunk randomly, Ryuu had actually been around more often. Unlike all the other terrible things that happened in their life, this didn't drive him away. It kept him closer. For once Ryuu was acting like the oldest brother and was taking care of his baby siblings. Not only did he protect them from their father at night, but he worked during the day to help buy food and Yukio's medicine. Furihata no longer had to work random jobs to make ends meet. Ryuu was actually starting to get to know Rin and Yukio. He taught Shouyou how to hit a baseball. He even smiled when Natsu finger painted him a picture.

 Furihata had actually begun to think again that even though they didn't have parents, they could still be a family again.

 That night was different, though. After Ryuu and their father shouted at each other until their father pathetically stepped down, it wasn't the old man who stormed out of the house. Furihata peaked through the crack in the bathroom door and watched his older brother pick up a backpack, punch their father in the face, and run out of the house. And just like that, he was gone. He disappeared out of thin air. 

 For the first time in a long time, Furihata actually cried.

 Ryuu never even said goodbye.

 

-.-

 

Furihata spent his fourteenth birthday working. That's all he did these days. Ryuu wasn't around to help with money, and while it was one less mouth to feed, it meant their medicine, clothing, and food money was gone. 

 He succeeded in finding two jobs to work. They weren't very high paying, since most people didn't really want to hire a fourteen-year-old, but Furihata was grateful to have them. The skills he had acquired from taking care of four younger siblings were very useful in the work field. It also helped that he looked adorable and people tended to feel inclined to give him more tips. If they needed a lot of money then he would bring Natsu to work—she, like her brother Shouyou, had an uncanny talent to make everyone fall in love with her. Having her around was like a gold mine. He couldn't do it too often though, in case Social Services came snooping around again. With Ryuu missing and his father hardly sober, he knew he couldn't manipulate his way around them again.

 Life wasn't easy—but then again, it hadn't been since he was seven years old. He never had a free second of his life. His mornings were spent getting everyone ready for school. Then as soon as Furihata got out of his school, he had to pick everyone up. Shouyou was in charge while Furihata went to work. He worked no later than 11:00 every night, and was always home before his father. It was a stressful and delicate system fashioned like a powder keg, but it worked. He knew that it was only going to get worse come high school, but he had to push through. 

 Part of him wanted to drop out before high school. They didn't really have the money for him to go, and if he did stop he could work more hours. But he knew he couldn't drop out because he had to set a good example for his younger siblings. He didn't want them to think it was okay to stop their education early. He wanted them to grow up and become great people with their own families that actually worked. He wanted them to be happy. 

 Maybe Furihata was being a little selfish by refusing to drop out. The extra money from working more would be a lot of help. If he did, maybe he could sign Shouyou up for volleyball lessons. He could buy Natsu a new dress, and get another mattress for them all to sleep on. But he continued to tell himself that going to school was the best choice. He was a Furihata, after all. Selfishness ran through his veins. 

 He tried to be different, though. He did his best to give almost everything up to his baby siblings. He put them first the best he could.

 Maybe that's why he didn't scream. It'd be too selfish if he did. Yukio hated it when Furihata was upset. And when Yukio was upset, so was Rin. And seeing the twins disgruntled always made Natsu cry. And Natsu crying made Shouyou panic.

 So Furihata stayed quiet, forcing the volcano inside him to turn dormant.

 He should have known it would only be a couple of years until he exploded. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Furi...
> 
> Hinata Shouyou and Hinata Natsu are from Haikyuu!! btw. Rin and Yukio are based on the main characters in Blue Exorcist.


	2. I'll Do Whatever it Takes (I'll Make a Million Mistakes)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting high school had been the scariest thing in the world for Furihata. But then he met Akashi Seijuurou.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all sooooo much for the positive feedback. All the support was super helpful, I'm glad y'all are enjoying the fic! 
> 
> Warnings: Remember it's still a slight crossover where I borrowed characters because I don't like creating OCs! Thank you! Also, there are mentions of domestic violence towards the end of the chapter. And technically there are spoilers for the Winter Cup are in this chapter in case any readers have not seen that part yet.

High school was the single most terrifying thing ever for Furihata. Which was saying something, since everything scared Furihata. 

With endless studying, minimal sleep, and lots of cheep coffee, Furihata had succeeded in getting a full ride to the new Seirin High School. The only problem was that the particular scholarship he received required him to join a club at the school. The last thing he needed to add to his hectic schedule was a club, but at this point he was just happy for the free education. 

This is why he stood where he was now, at the Seirin Opening Ceremony, with Natsu at his side. The ceremony was being held the day before actual school started. He left Shouyou, Rin, and Yukio at friends' houses, and decided to just bring his younger sister with him. She most likely wouldn't have let him leave anyways. She had been extra clingy this week for some reason. Furihata guessed she was just worried about starting school tomorrow, so he let her cling. He could never say no to her hugs anyways.

He was shocked by just how many booths there were. The Opening Ceremony was where clubs could go and recruit the new students. He assumed since the school had only been opened for a year that there wouldn't be that many choices. Furihata wasn't sure if he should be happy or overwhelmed.

He went with the latter.

He tried to be optimistic about it though. With so many options, maybe it wouldn't be hard to find a blow off club to join. Something where he only had to show up for one meeting and then pretend he wasn't apart of it after that. That way he wouldn't have to give up so many work hours, or leave his siblings unattended any more than he had to.

Unfortunately, Seirin seemed to take all their clubs very seriously. He was mobbed multiple times by random students (and occasionally even faculty) that were determined to persuade him to join their club. He had a billion flyers already. A couple even succeeded in kidnapping him temporarily and dragging him back to their booth. It seemed that even the strangest of clubs (gardening club? Really?) were very serious about having their meetings attended, and all the athletic-like clubs (could foosball be considered an athletic club?) had strict practice schedules. This, Furihata groaned inwardly, was a very bad thing. 

Natsu was loving it, though. All the girls swooned at the sight of the six-year-old angel. It was hard not to fall for his sister's charm. Natsu had the biggest brown eyes and stunning bright orange hair. She was bubbly and outgoing and loved so easily. She also enjoyed making it very clear that she loved her "Kaachan" most. It was a bit embarrassing, being called mommy by your little sister (who is also technically your cousin, but calling her his sibling made life less complicated). Anyone who heard it, however, thought it was the most precious thing in the world. Any of the clubs with girls completely forgot about recruiting the moment they noticed the little girl at Furihata's side. By the time they made it through all the clubs, Natsu had pockets full of sweets. The girl was virtually in heaven. 

They settled down on a park bench. Natsu immediately scrambled into his lap like she normally did. Furihata tried to ignore the coos from random people passing by. He focused instead on the large stack of flyers he had received. If he couldn't find a cheat club, he'd have to find something his younger siblings might enjoy. They're probably going to end up getting dragged along to most of the events. 

"Natsu-chan, what do you think?" he asked his sister. "Should I join Cooking Club? I could bring home lots of food, and maybe learn a few tricks for Rin."

(The eldest twin was determined to become a chef one day. Even at eight years old, he was already incredibly skilled. Furihata was very proud.) 

Natsu looked very serious as she thought on it. "No," she decided. "That's no fun, Kaachan. You should join this!"

She pushed a flyer in his face. Furihata pulled it back so he could read it and immediately blanched. It was a sign up sheet for the basketball club. He chuckled tensely as he shoved it at the bottom of his pile. 

"I can't do something like that, Natsu-chan," he laughed and pulled out another sheet of paper. "What about the library committee? I've always loved books, and I could bring home all kinds of books for everyone else!" 

Natsu considered this choice for a bit longer. "Will there be picture books for me?"

Furihata blinked. "No...probably not." It was unlikely a high school library would have books for little kids. "But I'd have access to lots of medical books for Yukio. He'll love that, don't you think?" 

(The younger twin wanted to be a doctor. He already acted as their home's resident nurse. Once again, Furihata was very proud.) 

The ginger haired girl still crinkled her nose. "Nope," she said, snatching the paper away from him. Furihata sighed. He could still check out the books for Yukio anyways. 

"That's boring, Kaachan. And Shou-chan says he's allergic to books! You should do this!"

She shoved the basketball flyer in his face again. Furihata sighed and put it away. "I can't join basketball club, I'm sorry Natsu-chan. But basketball club will mean I'll have to go to practice a lot, and that means I'll be around even less. Do you want that?"

Natsu pouted as she shook her head. "But you have to join, Kaachan! You just have to!" 

Furihata sighed and tried to quiet his little sister down before she started making too big of a scene. "Shh, Natsu, it's okay. If you want me to join a sports team I will, but...why basketball? Why not volleyball like Shouyou? He would probably love it if I played." 

Natsu firmly shook her head. "You have to play basketball because that's what the boy with blue hair is doing. And the boy with blue hair is really nice and he gave me lots of candy and said I was cute and you should be his friend."

It was the strangest logic ever, and Furihata should probably be very concerned. Some strange guy with blue hair (who has blue hair? Sketchy weirdos, that's who) gave his baby sister candy and called her cute (like a creep). Now Natsu was now in love and wanted Furihata to be friends with said blue haired boy. No, Furihata decided. He would not be friends with this boy, and he most definitely would not be joining the basketball club. 

But then Natsu gave him the puppy eyes, and suddenly Furihata was handing in his application for the Seirin Basketball Club with his head held low and his sister cheering joyfully at his side. He purposely made his reason for joining as vague as possible because he was too ashamed to admit that he was somewhat harassed into it by a six-year-old. 

 

-.-

 

He met the blue haired boy. His name is Kuroko Tetsuya. He wasn't really what Furihata expected. He didn't look like some pervert freak like the ones Furihata saw occasionally lurking around the apartment complex. He was weird, but not in a way that he could be called a weirdo. He was weird in a 'invisible to almost everyone' kind off way. He was smaller that even Furihata, and he was freakishly emotionless. Kuroko actually kind of scared him (but not nearly as much as the other first year, Kagami Taiga, scared him. That boy was huge and had red hair and red eyes and was very intimidating.) Though he was also very nice like Natsu said, and also enjoyed books like Furihata. He was hardworking, too. Furihata respected him greatly.

Furihata takes back what he said. Maybe he will be friends with the blue haired boy.

 

-.-

 

Basketball club is pretty brutal. Their coach, Aida Riko, worked them hard—and unfortunately, very often. He was home even less than before, and often times couldn't pick his siblings up after school. It upset him a lot, since he cherished every moment with them, and he didn't want them to think he was abandoning them. His siblings weren't upset though. They were very happy that Furihata had joined the basketball club (although Shouyou didn't understand why he picked that over volleyball). They were also very eager to meet the famed blue haired boy Natsu was always talking about.

Furihata wasn't sure he wanted them to.

He didn't mean that in a negative way against Kuroko. He held the guy in the highest regards, and very much considered him a friend. He would love for Natsu to meet her blue haired idol, but it was just...complicated. 

As much as he wished he could, Furihata didn't want to introduce any of his siblings to his teammates. Not even Fukuda Hiroshi and Kawahara Kouichi, the two boys he had come to be closest with. The trio had developed a bond early on as they claimed their spots as benchwarmers. None of them are bothered by the placement, however, and they are always happy to cheer on their teammates. All the team, in fact, was amazing and he cared for ever single one of them. He was no longer scared of the larger, more intimidating players, and was close friends with Kagami now. But despite all this, he still didn't feel very comfortable revealing anything about his home life. It was a secret he liked to keep contained, and the more people who knew, the harder it was to control. 

He didn't want to keep his siblings a secret. On the contrary, he wished every second he could flaunt adorable photos and talk about how amazing his little siblings were. He wanted to brag about how smart Yukio was, or share Rin's amazing cooking creations. He wanted to show Kagami that Shouyou could jump just as high, or let everyone fall freely in love with Natsu's irresistible charm and all-around adorableness. But like he said, it was complicated. Most people wouldn't approve of it if they found out a teenager was raising (and had been raising for half his life) four elementary aged kids. It got even worse if they learned that his father was a drunk, their mother was a whack job, their eldest brother was a runaway, and their aunt and uncle were dead. If people knew his story, they'd feel the need to interfere. Furihata just wanted everyone to stay away. 

So, alas, his family was a secret. 

It was tough, though. There were a couple of times when he was forced to drag them along to certain events. He was just grateful that his teammates were not the most observant people, and that his siblings knew how to act discrete (even though Natsu desperately wanted to talk to Kuroko again). He avoided bringing all four of them as much as possible, and sometimes just had to deal with leaving them with Shouyou in charge for almost an entire day.

His schedule was a mess everyday, and he kept working later and later, and sleeping less and less, but the bills were paid and his grades were decent so it was okay. He had great friends at school and all of his siblings were happy at home. He checked out lots of medical books for Yukio and cooking books for Rin. He brought Shouyou into the boy's volleyball practice one day. Natsu demanded to hear every story of his adventures with his basketball team. Starting high school had been the scariest thing in the world, but it was working out quite well. 

 

-.-

 

Many months later, Furihata met Akashi Seijuurou, and suddenly high school was not the scariest thing in the world anymore.

 

-.-

 

It was only a matter of time before someone found out about his family. He just never guessed it would have happened the way it did. He honestly always assumed it would have been Riko who found out—the terrifying coach always got very snoopy if a player ever had to miss practice (and Furihata missed quite a bit unfortunately). Or maybe Kuroko, since Natsu still remembered him and was very much in love with the blue haired boy. Or Fukuda and Kawahara, since they were his closest friends, or at least _someone_ on the Seirin team that he was close to. He assumed it would have been a lot of different people, but never—never did he think this was an option.

It was his own fault that it happened. His siblings had begged him to let them attend the final game of the Winter Cup—they were so thrilled that he made the finals—and he couldn't find it in him to say no. They hadn't gotten to see him play a single game the entire year, (of course, it's not like he ever really played in the first place...) and they were desperate. He hadn't seen any harm in them coming; lots of people would be in the crowd, and it's not like they would stand out. So he let them come.

That was his first mistake.

His next mistake came when he forgot how incredibly overprotective his siblings got at times. He didn't blame them for acting that way—he was just as overprotective. It's a behavior that tends to come when you live the lifestyle they did. They relied on each other, they protected each other, and they got very angry towards anyone who hurt their family. So he should have expected that they would have animosity towards the terrifying Rakuzan captain.

Furihata had been excited (and nervous and anxious and downright terrified) to finally get to play in a game, especially the game his siblings were watching. He could hear their loud cheers the moment he stepped on the court, and it pushed down most of his urge to barf. But then he was put against Akashi Seijuurou, the Emperor and Scariest Thing in The World. It was horrible. He made a total fool of himself and acted like a frightened Chihuahua the entire time. It was only when he focused on his siblings’ nonstop cheers did he succeed in making a basket, even with Akashi against him. (That moment will go down in history as Furihata's greatest accomplishment ever.) 

After the game, however, when he went to go pick up his siblings, he couldn't find them. He looked all around the area they chose to meet up at, but there was no sign of them. He started to panic—his siblings were always at their meet up spots. Not once did he have to deal with them not being there. This quickly led to him acting like a distraught mother that lost her toddler in a grocery store. He couldn't help but envision creepy guys with large beards and a white van snatching his siblings and driving away. 

This did not help his mental state at all. 

He searched _everywhere_. Under tables, down random hallways, and in every bathroom and open stall. He thoroughly inspected the gym and lobby twice. He checked every unlocked room in the building. He even checked to see if they were hugging a tree like he told them to do when they were lost. But despite all his efforts, there was simply no sign of them. It was like they had vanished (or been kidnapped, the annoying part of him reasoned). 

After a solid thirty minutes of searching, Furihata resorted to collapsing against the side of the building and sobbing. It wasn't very productive, and he was attracting attention, but he didn't really care anymore. His siblings were gone. The people he spent his whole life protecting had disappeared the one second he let his guard down. He shouldn't have spent so much time celebrating in the locker room. He should've gone straight to them. No, he shouldn't have brought them in the first place. What kind of idiot was he, letting his four elementary aged siblings be in public mostly unsupervised? Now they were probably going to wind up dead, murdered by a psychopath, and Furihata was going to be alone. The tiny part of his family he actually succeeded in holding together would be gone, and it was all his fault.

He sobbed like a baby and cursed the fates. Why couldn't they leave him alone? Why was he doomed to be family-less? Why couldn't anything just go right?

 

-.-

 

Just when he was going to hunt down a phone to borrow and call the police, he heard a beautifully familiar voice from his left.

"You bully, you scared our Kaachan!" 

Furihata spun, choking on a sob. Standing in front of the entrance doors were four very familiar people. He saw the two bright orange haired heads next to a boy with pitch black hair, and another with dark brown. The four children appeared to be talking to someone. Furihata had no idea who, and he was too busy running to find out. 

"Natsu-chan!" he cried out, his voice cracking with grief. The girl was just starting to turn around by the time Furihata reached her. He scooped her up and squeezed her tight to his chest, sobbing like a newborn.

"Where have you been?" he asked, his voice unpleasantly choked up. "I was terrified! I thought something had happened to you guys! You guys weren't at the meet up spot, and I couldn't find you anywhere, and I thought someone had—I was so worried that you—" 

He was too emotional to get the sentence out. He held Natsu tight and looked down at his three brothers. They had all taken an extreme interest in the floor. He tried to find trepidation in his heart, tried to be angry because of how worried they caused him to be, but he was too relieved right now for that. He was just happy that they were here and unharmed (and, well, he could never be angry at his siblings). 

He fell to his knees and pulled them in for a tight hug. "I'm so happy you're all alright," he breathed and hugged them tighter. He felt all four eagerly recuperate the embrace, and all of his emotions just drained right out of him.

"Excuse me...I would assume that you are this young lady's...'Kaachan'?" he heard someone else say, and it was then that it dawned on Furihata that someone else was here. Someone else whom his siblings had been talking to. Someone who he just made sobbing fool out of himself in front of. He broke out of the hug and turned to see who the unfortunate soul was. His eyes almost burst out of their sockets. 

Red hair. Red eyes—two this time, he noted. An intense gaze. A commanding aura. 

What on Earth was Akashi Seijuurou doing here?

Then it dawned on him. Of course they went after Akashi. Since Furihata had been so visibly terrified of the boy, they had taken it upon themselves to resolve the issue.

Furihata scrambled up so fast that he accidentally took one of his siblings with him. Judging by the size it was either Rin or Yukio. He heard Natsu whine and cling against his legs as he tried to adjust his brother to his hip. 

"Uh, yes, I am—well, no, not really, that's just what she calls me—I'm not really her mother, as you can tell, and technically speaking she's my cousin but we adopted her and well—it's complicated," he spewed out, way too rushed. Akashi just stared at him, his face completely blank. It made Furihata feel very uncomfortable. He exhaled deeply. "That's me, yes."

Akashi nodded, his soulless eyes unblinking. "Ah, yes. I believe we have met before. It's nice to formally meet your acquaintance...?"

"Furihata. Furihata Kouki," he supplied, wincing at how rushed his speech still was. He bowed his head the best he could with an eight-year-old in his arms. 

Akashi bowed his head in return. "Nice to meet you, Furihata-kun. I am Akashi Seijuurou." Furihata wanted to say something like 'I know' but chose to keep his mouth shut when Akashi continued, "Please don't think me rude. I would shake your hand to properly greet you, but it would appear your arms are...full."

Furihata chuckled awkwardly and readjusted the twin—whom he determined was Yukio—so he sat on his other hip. "Yeah..." he answered lamely. A silence quickly dawned on them and Furihata just wanted to run. 

"Are these all your...cousins that you've adopted?" Akashi finally asked. Furihata noted that he was speaking oddly cautious, as if he were unsure what to say. The brown haired boy wasn't sure if he should be concerned or relieved that he wasn't the only one negatively affected by the situation. 

Furihata chuckled awkwardly again. (He really needed to stop. It was not helping the tense atmosphere at all.) "Ah, no. Just Natsu and Shouyou—the ones with orange hair. The other two, Rin and Yukio, are my biological brothers." 

He didn't bother going into depth and explaining that the twins were technically his half brothers; nor did he feel like mentioning there was another sibling not present tonight. This was trivial information and tended to raise too much concern, so it was ignored. 

Akashi nodded again. "I'm sorry to have made you panicked. Your siblings were simply informing me that I had acted unpleasantly towards you. I believe I should apologize, then."

Furihata shook his head so fast he almost knocked off Yukio's glasses. "T-There's no need, Akashi-san! My siblings were just being silly!"

"But he bullied you, Oniisan! He made you really scared!" protested Yukio.

"Yeah, he wasn't nice to you at all Niichan! He should apologize!" added Rin.

"You always tell us to apologize if we aren't nice to someone. Why should he be any different?" Shouyou tried to reason, and he could hear Natsu calling Akashi a bully again, and that's it. This was just getting out of hand. 

"Please leave Akashi-san alone..." he begged pathetically. His siblings looked at him like he had grown another eyeball. 

"But Kaachan—"

"It's really quite alright, Furihata-kun." stated Akashi. His piercing red eyes drooped down, narrowing slightly. He suddenly strode a few steps forward and squatted down right in front of Natsu.

"You're very protective of your Kaachan, aren't you?"

Natsu nodded vigorously, hugging Furihata's leg possessively. "No one hurts my Kaachan. No one."

Akashi smiled—yes smiled, and it was gentle and not terrifying (wait, yes it was). "It's very good thing that you are. He's very lucky to have you protect him." His eyes swept towards Shouyou and Rin. "All of you."

Now Furihata was confused, because was Akashi-Stab-You-With-Scissors-Seijuurou being sweet towards his siblings?

It's official. Furihata had lost his mind.

"We always look out for each other," Shouyou added, putting an arm over Rin's shoulder.

Natsu nodded in agreement, her head bobbing up and down as she patted Furihata's pant leg. "Kaachan always protects us the most! He has since we were little, and he does every second of the day, especially when our father is—"

Crap.

She stopped short and slapped her tiny hand over her mouth. Almost instantly, the entire family froze, absolutely terrified as to what would happen next. Akashi now knew. He knew about their father. While Natsu had stopped herself early on, Akashi was undoubtedly smart enough to infer what she meant. 

Fear filled Furihata. It was bad enough the Rakuzan captain knew about his four siblings and their complicated relations—that itself was questionable at best. But now he knew about their abusive father, and Furihata knew they were done for. Akashi was going to call Social Services, and they were going to be split up into random foster homes, never to see each other again. And it would all be Furihata's fault because he brought them to the basketball game. 

Akashi had neither moved nor reacted, and Furihata didn't give him time to. As gracefully as possible (which wasn't very graceful at all), he scooped Natsu into his other arm and gently nudged the two oldest boys away. 

"Hey, look at the time! We'll just be on our way now! Sorry again for bothering you, Akashi-san! Have a good day!" he babbled, ushering his siblings away despite their protests and declares to get justice for their big brother. He could practically feel Akashi staring holes into his back as he retreated, but Furihata couldn't bring himself to care. All he was worried about was getting away. If he left now, then maybe Akashi would forget him quickly and wouldn't report them to the Social Services or anything. 

He was so preoccupied with hoping that Akashi would forget all about them that Furihata ended up making a third mistake. He didn't factor in that his siblings most definitely would not be forgetting Akashi Seijuurou anytime soon, especially since they never succeeded in getting an apology. He should have expected them to be brooding over this 'injustice'. 

That's all it should have been, though—brooding. Because Akashi was going to leave soon since the Winter Cup was over, and he would never see Furihata or siblings again.

Right?

 

-.-

 

When Furihata was fifteen, his father got home one night before he did. 

Ever since Ryuu had left, he and his siblings had worked out a very delicate schedule to make sure they were never home alone with their father. Though the old man didn't come home drunk _every_ night, Furihata didn't trust him around them even when he was completely sober. Ever since Ryuu left, their father had steadily been becoming more and more violent. Furihata wasn't aggressive like his brother; he couldn't stand up to the old man with words alone, nor could he defend himself when things turned sour. The only thing that saved him was the fact that he was pretty good at dodging, and that his father wasn't one to swing twice. Thankfully his natural clumsiness and cheerful demeanor kept anyone from questioning the occasional bruise that inevitably popped up when he wasn't fast enough.

Even on nights where their father didn't go out drinking, he never came home before 11:30 P.M. That's why Furihata made sure to never work later than 11:00. Everyday for an entire year, he was always there before his father. He always had time to take care of and hide his siblings. And because his father was very dedicated with working everyday, and he never came home early. 

But his father had never been sick before. At least, not so bad that he was forced to come home early. 

He came home at around 10:00, more drunk than he'd ever been before—with more anger than he'd ever had before. Furihata had been finishing up his shift at a nearby restaurant, completely unaware of the havoc approaching his baby siblings. They were all alone that night, as they always were when Furihata had to work. Shouyou was in charge. 

Furihata got home exactly 10:18—meaning his father was alone with his siblings for almost twenty minutes. He entered the apartment and found Shouyou on the floor, the old man towering over the ginger haired boy. Yukio was curled up in a fetal position a few feet away, and Rin was pressed up against the wall, holding desperately onto Natsu as the girl sobbed. 

In the next second, all Furihata saw was red. He dropped his bags and charged at his father. He hit the man as hard as he could with a sloppy American football tackle, and even though Furihata was as scrawny as can be, it was enough force to send them to the floor. He landed hard on top of his father and was quick to pin the old man down. Thankfully, he was too drunk to be able to fight against Furihata.

"Wha's yah do—" the man slurred, but was cut short when Furihata's hand struck his cheek. The old man's head snapped to the side as his son smacked him, just like he himself had done that very first night nearly three years ago (and had repeated to do many times after).

Furihata wasn't sure how to feel. Part if him wondered if he was supposed to feel some strong sense of justice, haven finally gotten back at his father for all those beatings. Right now, however, all he could think about was his siblings and how much his hand hurt. 

He scrambled off his father and let the man storm away like he always did. He slammed the door harder than usual, making all the walls shake. The one, single picture in the entire apartment to fell to the floor and shattered. Rin screamed at the sound. Or maybe it was Natsu. Furihata didn't know anymore. His head hurt too. 

He crawled towards Shouyou. The ginger was still on the floor, curled in on his side. His nose was bleeding and he was cradling his stomach. Furihata sniffled and gently placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Shou...?" he asked hoarsely. His throat was too clogged up to say more. Shouyou whimpered and curled in even further. His big brown eyes cracked open and instantly started welling with tears. 

"...Onnichan..." he said, his voice incredibly soft and weak. Suddenly, a violet sob overcame the boy as he began to cry. Furihata felt his heart shatter like the picture at the sound. His lip quivered as he rubbed Shouyou's arm. 

"I'm here, Shou-chan," he whispered. Shouyou continued to cry, his entire body shaking. Furihata heard a mixture of sniffles and shaky breaths and looked up. Yukio was still completely curled in a fetal position, his head wedged between his knees. Furihata weakly scooted towards his youngest brother and reached out to nudge the boy. 

"Yu...kio," he said softly, his voice catching. He was about to attempt to say more but was cut off when Yukio suddenly unraveled himself and sprang into Furihata's arms. He caught the boy with an "oomph" and almost toppled backwards. 

"Onnisan!" he cried out, circling his arms around the eldest's neck. Emotions completely overtook Furihata and he sobbed as he pulled Yukio in closer. He kept a hand on Shouyou, moving his hand to run his fingers through the ginger's hair. This always calmed Shouyou down when he was distressed. The effect was instantaneous, as the boy soon was reduced to sniffles and hiccups. 

"Rin...Natsu..." he croaked out, rolling his head to look at his two remaining siblings. They were still pressed up against the wall, white with terror. Natsu snapped to life at the mention of her name and scrambled to her feet, dragging a blank-faced Rin with her. Furihata extended his palm off Yukio's back and welcomed his baby siblings into his arms. 

They stayed like this for a while, just crying and absorbing the comfort of each other's presence. The ebbing pain in Furihata's hand started to fade as he ran his fingers through Shouyou's ginger locks. The boy's nose had stopped bleeding, but he was still holding his stomach. Gently, he moved his hand to the area of concern, ever so slightly brushing his fingers across it. Shouyou hissed like he had been burned and shied away.

"Shou..." Furihata whispered, careful not to disturb Natsu, whom had fallen asleep. "You have to let me touch it. I need to see how it is."

Shouyou didn't move for a while, and Furihata patiently waited. He subconsciously rubbed his hand up and down Rin's back. Finally, after about five minutes, the ginger sluggishly lifted up his shirt. There wasn't much light in the apartment, but Furihata could easily see the quickly forming bruises that littered his brother's abdominal. He tenderly pressed against the skin, looking for further injuries, but pulled back when Shouyou yelped in pain. 

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. He could practically feel his heart jump straight into his throat. "I'm so sorry, Shou-chan."

A sob escaped his mouth again as fresh tears joined the dry ones on his cheeks. He reached for Shouyou's hand and grasped it like a lifeline. He felt the other squeeze it back with just as much effort. It only made Furihata break down further. 

"I'm so sorry, Shou-chan," he croaked. "This should have never happened. I should have been here to protect you—all of you." 

He felt Shouyou shuffle and move, letting out a hiss of pain or two, before crashing his way into Furihata's already filled arms. "It's not your fault, Oniichan," he said softly, nuzzling his brother's shoulder. "I was the one who chose to go against him. I wanted to be brave, just like you. I wanted to protect them too." The boy sniffled and a tremor ran through his body. "I failed, Oniichan."

The ginger's voice broke and so did whatever remained of Furihata's heart. Shouyou said he wanted to be like him—be brave and protective. It was laughable. He wasn't brave; he was the world's biggest coward. He wanted to protect, but Furihata never seemed to be successful in doing that. Not when it mattered most. 

"I was the one who failed, Shou. I failed all of you, just like I always seem to do. I keep making mistakes and miscalculating and all of you keep getting hurt," he took a shaky breath and shook his head softly. "I couldn't save Rin and Yukio from my mother—" his grip on the sleeping twins tightened, "—I couldn't stop Ryuu from leaving. I couldn't keep you all safe from our father. It's all my fault. I'm sorry I'm not better."

He suddenly felt someone tug roughly on his hair and looked down at the angry looking Shouyou. "You don't have to be better, Oniichan!" he cried. "You're already the best!" 

Maybe that's why Furihata was so selfish and kept them together. Maybe that's why he endured every hit, every pain, every sleepless night and stress-filled day. Because every time their lives fall apart, they always have each other to pick up the pieces.

 

-.-

 

They had fallen asleep like that, on the floor of the main room. They were curled and piled on each other like a group of puppies. Furihata woke up some time around five o'clock in the morning. He tried to fall back asleep, but he had too many elbows and knees pressing up against him to get comfortable again. 

With much effort, he succeeded in sliding away without waking any of his siblings. He slowly pulled his aching limbs upward and cautiously looked around. It seemed the old man didn't come back home last night. Not that Furihata was complaining. 

He decided to get an (irritatingly) early start to his day. He never had gotten a chance to do his homework last night, for obvious reasons. He moved to blindly search for his backpack in the darkness of the room. He stopped short when he heard a crunching sound and felt something shatter underneath his feet. He could faintly make out the slight reflectiveness of glass and was suddenly very grateful he fell asleep with his shoes on. 

He bent down and realized he had stepped on the remains of the picture frame that fell and shattered last night. He carefully brushed away the glass shards to retrieve the picture. He held the photo tentatively. It was a picture of his family over eight years ago, before his mother had the affair and everything went downhill. Back before his father started working all the time. Back when it was just him and Ryuu and his parents and they were a family. Back when they all smiled easily and they loved each other. 

Furihata couldn't help but frown at the sight of the photo. Times back then had been so simple, so safe. There were no pieces to pick up or parts too destroyed to fix. But despite it all, he wouldn't ever trade this life for that. Because this life had his baby siblings, and they were his family now. He looked down at the broken, unrepairable picture frame and thought it hilariously symbolic. That family of the past was long gone—much too demolished to ever be fixed. He had a new family to worry about now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayyy, Akashi.
> 
> Hey, just curious. I do not have a beta reader and have to do all that proofreading and stuff myself. As y'all have probably observed when reading, I still miss stuff because I'm crap at editing, and I was wondering if anyone wants to be my beta or if there is a place I can go to get one. I'm very new to the fanfic world, and I don't really tell any of my friends I write so I can't ask them. It'd be a huge help bc seriously I probably would have chapter four up by now if I didn't have to spend so much time proofreading. Thank y'all so much! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!


	3. Talk Less, Smile More (Don't Let Them Know)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Furihata just wanted to move past his awkward encounter with Akashi. So of course he ran into him again three days later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've literally been sitting on this chapter for a year and have done nothing with it. I'm so sorry! 
> 
> Warning: mentions of child abuse, emotionally constipated Akashi, and extremely embarrassed Furihata
> 
> I apologize for grammar mistakes, I suck at editing.

It hadn't even been a full three days by the next time they ran into Akashi Seijuurou. Furihata cursed whatever almighty being decided to make such a joke out of his life. 

It was the Saturday after the Winter Cup. He had felt horrible that he had spent the twins' birthday at the semifinal game, and thus promised to do something extra special the following weekend. Though they couldn't really do much because of money, the twins were still beyond thrilled to learn about a New Year’s celebration being held at a park near Seirin. It was a small celebration—not anything near the level of the fairs and festivals that most people attend.

It was just exactly what Furihata was comfortable with, though, and there were still enough events being held that everyone was very satisfied. There was, of course, the playground (which made Natsu squeal), as well as shogi boards set up for an open tournament (much to Yukio's pleasure); sports fields of every kind with small games and tournaments being held (Shouyou almost fainted when he saw the volleyball net); there was even a petting zoo set up (it was obvious Rin liked this the best, even if the boy was attempting to hide it).  

Furihata grinned down at his siblings. "Now," he chided gently. "I know you all want to go have fun, but we need to stay together. And since it was Rin-chan and Yukio-chan's birthday, we'll let them pick." 

Shouyou deflated slightly, and Furihata simply ruffled his hair. "Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time to do everything, Shou-chan!" he reassured gently, making the ginger boy grin again.

In the end, the twins surprised everyone by deciding to play basketball, saying that they "wanted to see their brother make an awesome basket again." Furihata wasn't sure that's what he'd call his accomplishment at the Winter Cup, but he was flattered nonetheless.  

They ended up playing a game of four vs one, with his siblings unanimously deciding to defeat the eldest no matter what it took. In the end, on their second game, they succeeded despite Furihata's training in the sport—one can only play basketball so well when they have a six-year-old girl attached to their leg. All his siblings resorted to playing unbelievably dirty in the second game; Furihata wasn't sure if he should be proud or concerned of their clever trick plays. While Natsu played a rather physical defense game to keep him from moving at all, Shouyou acted as a decoy by jumping high and attracting all the attention. This had let Rin easily snatch the ball away and pass it to Yukio to score—the younger twin had proved to be a very impressive sharpshooter. 

As Yukio scored his fifth basket to Furihata's one, signaling the younger team's win, the high schooler finally started to notice all the attention their game had attracted. There was a group of girls giggling at them, and he could hear comments about "how cute they were" and how they were "total family goals". The attention made Furihata nervous. When people started looking, they started getting curious; and when they started getting curious, they started asking questions.

Questions were always a very bad thing.  

 

-.- 

 

After some debate, they agreed to visit the petting zoo next. It was moments like this Furihata wished he had a camera or at least a phone. He was absolutely positive there was nothing more adorable than Rin cuddling a bunny, or Natsu riding a miniature pony. He stood to the side, soaking up the scene in front of him when he felt a hand tug on his shirt. He looked down and found a small animal being shoved in his face.

"Look, Onnichan! It looks just like you!" Shouyou said proudly. Furihata eyed the brown-furred dog—which he noted was also a Chihuahua. It was shaking and looked absolutely terrified. Furihata felt all his dignity deplete in a second. 

(He spotted the dog again right before they left the petting zoo. It was cowering in a corner as a sleek, red-furred cat walked by. He tried not to blanch too much at the irony.)

 

-.-

 

They went to the volleyball courts next, where Shouyou attempted to teach them how to play. Unfortunately, the boy had never had the opportunity to properly learn the sport, so there wasn't much he could teach. Their little game just ended up becoming a rendition of keep-the-ball-off-the-floor-no-matter-what. Shouyou and his other siblings seemed content, though, so they kept the game up for quite a while.  

It wasn't until Furihata's stomach started growling did he notice how late it had become. It was about an hour past noon, and he had to get to work by three o'clock. He jumped up to catch the volleyball and stop their game. 

"Niichan!" Rin complained.

"Sorry, Rin-chan. It's about time we head home soon to eat, though. We can do one more thing before we have to leave, though."

His siblings talked it over for a short period before unanimously deciding to head over to the playground. Furihata let them split up when they got there—he wasn't _that_ much of a mother hen. He took a seat on a bench so he could keep an eye them all. Shouyou was pushing Natsu on the swings while Rin was acting like an acrobat on the monkey bars. Yukio had asked to go to the shogi boards nearby, and Furihata agreed so long that he stayed in sight and away from creepy strangers.

Furihata was craning his neck to locate his youngest brother when an older woman sat down on the bench next to him. He unwittingly held his breath—older people were always the worst when it came to asking questions. He tried to make it as obvious as possible that he was busy looking for something, silently hoping that this would guarantee he would be left alone.

"Those children are your siblings, correct?" the woman asked. Furihata mentally sighed. _Why him?_

"Um...yes ma'am."

The woman hummed. "I've been watching you interact with them all day—" 

That's creepy.

"—and I think it's incredibly sweet. I wish my grandson acted more like you."

Furihata couldn't help but blush and duck his head. He paused his search to inspect the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of his shoes. He never was good with confrontation, positive or negative. "T-Thank you, ma'am."

The lady hummed again and Furihata took a risk and glanced over. She was wearing a surprisingly cross expression and mental alarms started going off in his head. He needed to leave now, this was in no way going to end well, it never ended well, it was going to be—

"Where on earth do those two get the gaudy orange hair? There's no way you of the other two little boys have the same genetics as them. Or you, for that matter."

—a disaster.

Furihata coughed awkwardly and attempted to locate the closest sibling he could escape to. "Oh, yeah, genetics...that's a question to ask my mother, I believe..."

He grumbled the last part, not really intending on letting the woman hear. For an old lady, though, she had some astonishingly great hearing. "Excuse me? What was that? Where even is your mother, young man?"

Well, this was no good. Furihata shot up from the bench, shouting "Coming Natsu-chan!" and making a mad dash to the playground. He didn't actually know where on the playground the girl was since he had lost sight of her when the old woman started talking. He quickly disappeared behind the slide, exhaling a sigh of relief. Running away was always the best way to avoid questions—or anything for that matter.

That's probably why Ryuu ran when he could. Or why their father left so quickly at night, or why their mother killed herself. That's probably why Furihata was such a coward. All they did was run. 

 

-.-

 

He set out to hunt down Yukio. He found a lot more than just Yukio.

He spotted his baby brother surprisingly easily. It was hard not to notice him. Not only was he the only nine-year-old even remotely close to the shogi boards, but his opponent was also pretty hard to miss. Furihata's eyes had been naturally attracted to the bright red hair like a beacon—

Wait a minute.

_Bright red?_

Despite knowing multiple rainbow haired people, hair that bright red wasn't common. There were probably only two people in all of Japan with hair like that, and Furihata's gut was telling him this wasn't the more friendly, tall, American one. 

In a split decision of not very sensible judgment, Furihata jumped behind a trash can before he could be spotted. He scared the crap out of the small dog nearby, which resulted in receiving a weird look from the owner, but he could care less. Right now, his only concern was protecting his baby brother while still successfully avoiding the Rakuzan captain. 

Why on Earth was Akashi even here in the first place? The Winter Cup had ended; didn't he have more impressing matters to attend to, like school? Located in Kyoto? Which is very far away from this little park in Tokyo. Which is why it made absolutely no sense as to why he was currently playing shogi with Yukio. 

Furihata cautiously peeked out from behind the trash can. He could only see Yukio's back from this angle, so he had no real idea how his brother was doing. He had to rely completely on Akashi's expressions—which were, unfortunately, few and far between, and not very telling at all. The boy seemed completely engrossed on the game board in front of him, but his face was relaxed like he was already certain of victory. He probably was. 

Akashi moved a piece on the board and Yukio's shoulders drooped. Alarms went off in Furihata's head. Negative body language. This was not acceptable. No one was allowed to make Yukio unhappy. It didn't matter how rich, strong, intelligent, or absolute Akashi was; that red-eyed emperor was going to pay. 

Furihata jumped out from behind the trash can and marched towards the pair, trying to appear as determined and intimidating as possible. He was about five feet away from them when a blur ran right in front of him. He swerved to avoid a collision, but his feet got twisted around underneath him. He felt gravity do its thing and fell face first into a bush.

"Did you beat him, Yukio?" a child—undoubtedly Rin—asked. 

"No. He's too good. I just can't win..."

"Sure you can! He can't win everything, just try again. You'll get him this time for sure!" Shouyou encouraged, and Natsu let out a squeaking cheer. 

Why were all his siblings talking to Akashi again?

Furihata groaned as he pulled himself out of the now squished bush. He was slightly scratched by the branches, and there were leaves in his hair and on his clothes now. The brown-haired boy sighed. At least it wasn't a thorn bush...

"Kaachan? Why were you hugging a tree?"

All eyes were on him now, including Akashi. The captain looked incredibly confused and unimpressed. His eyes—still both red—raked over Furihata, clearly judging the boy's disgruntled appearance. Furihata felt his face heat up. He was partially tempted to jump back into the bush and hide from the shame. 

"It's a bush, Natsu. Trees are much taller," Yukio oh-so-helpfully corrected. Furihata coughed awkwardly and patted a leaf out of his hair. 

"Ah, no, I was just being clumsy. You know me, Natsu-chan—can't stand on my own two feet."  

Natsu giggled while Akashi arched an eyebrow. Furihata's face inflamed again as he struggled to figure out what to say next.

"Uh, so w-what are you guys doing?" he asked anxiously. He could feel how much his hands were sweating and tried to be discreet when wiping them on his shirt. Judging by the way Akashi's unblinking eyes followed the movement, he wasn't successful. 

"We found Akashi-san playing shogi all by himself. He never apologized for the basketball game, so we decided to challenge him to a game. We figured, since you weren't here, this was the best way to make Akashi-san pay for being such a jerk!" Rin explained. Furihata almost choked on his spit.

"Rin! You can't say things like that to Akashi-san, it's very rude. Please apologize."

"But Niichan—"

"Now."

Rin pouted and grumbled something unintelligible before grumpily turning towards the Rakuzan captain. "I'm sorry, Akashi-san." 

The red-haired boy nodded towards Rin. "Apology accepted, thank you. Though, please do not worry too much, Furihata-kun. I think your siblings are entirely justified in their actions. I should apologize for that night. As I'm sure Kuroko informed has you, the reasons behind my behavior throughout the Winter Cup are...complicated." 

Furihata nodded; he was aware of the situation with the Original and Other Akashi, even if he didn't entirely understand it. His siblings, however, were a different story. 

"What reasons? There aren't any reasons for being a rude, unkind jerkface," Natsu argued. 

Furihata sighed, exasperated. "Natsu-chan! What did I just tell Rin-chan about saying mean words?" 

Natsu's lip quivered as she lowered her head, but Akashi waved his hand to prevent anything further. He shocked Furihata senseless by then crouching down so he was about eye level with the girl. In a hushed whisper Furihata had to strain to hear, the captain said, "Do you remember how you said that your brother keeps you safe from everything?"

Natsu nodded slowly, looking dazed. Furihata was barely even processing what was happening anymore.

"Well, my little brother does the exact same thing for me," Akashi explained. 

"You have a brother?" Yukio asked timidly. Akashi looked over to the young boy, nodding with a faint, sorrowful smile on his lips.

"Yes, I do. I'm afraid he was actually the one that was you saw being so mean and scary towards Furihata-kun."

"You have a twin as well?"

Akashi paused for a moment. "I guess that's one way to put it," he concluded. "My twin looks just like me, except he has one gold eye and one red eye. That's how people...tell us apart. He is always trying to protect me whenever a situation gets too stressful. However, sometimes he can get very...troublesome in how he protects me. I'm afraid that's why he scared Furihata-kun so much."

Furihata's mind whirled. Why was Akashi confiding this in his baby siblings? Why was he acting so nice and not like the scariest thing in the world? And better yet, why hadn't he mentioned anything about Furihata's sketchy home life that he learned of last time? 

Natsu's soft giggle sliced through the tense mood like a knife. Akashi's eyes shot down to the girl, looking incredibly perturbed. 

"Your twin was protecting you from Kaachan? That's just silly."

The red-haired boy arched an eyebrow. "I believe he was more accurately protecting me from losing."

It was Rin that giggled this time. "From losing? That's even sillier." 

"Oh?"

Shouyou nodded. "Oniichan said that losing is natural. He should know, he loses all the time." 

Furihata's face blared a bright red. "S-Shou-chan!"

Akashi's eyes flicked back over towards the brown-haired teen (was he smirking? It looked evil). "Is that so? I think he had a very big win earlier this week."

Was that a compliment? Did Furihata just get complimented by  _the_  Akashi Seijuurou? 

Wow. Kuroko was right. The Original Akashi was way different than the Other Akashi. He was even more psychotic.

"It was awesome, too! Oniichan went 'gwah' and the ball went 'swoosh' and he made a basket!" Shouyou cheered, pulling on his eldest brother's shirt as he jumped up and down. Furihata blushed and tried not to look down at the red eyes staring at him. 

Natsu suddenly scrambled towards the Rakuzan captain. Akashi looked so incredibly startled and shocked when she pulled on his jacket and clung to his shoulders like the monkey she was. Furihata probably would have laughed at the redhead's face if he wasn't so busy fearing for Natsu's life.

"Natsu-chan! What are you doing?" he cried. He was prepared to perform a flying leap and carry his baby sister to safety but stopped short. Akashi didn't make any move to push away his sister or reach for a hidden pair of scissors. He just stayed completely still, staring at the ginger with wide eyes as she grabbed at him like he was a playground toy. 

"Where's your brother now, Aka-chan?" she asked once she settled down, blinking innocently. 

Furihata started panicking for a number of reasons. One, Natsu was hanging off Akashi Seijuurou's arm. Two, the question was extremely personal and way too awkward to explain to a seven-year-old. And three, Aka-chan? 

Akashi finally started to move and Furihata tensed, fearing the worst

He automatically relaxed, however, when he realized that Akashi was just nudging Natsu down so he could look her in the eyes. His baby sister stared into the two intense red orbs with a smile, as if they didn't affect her at all. Furihata silently questioned if they were actually related. 

"My little brother, you see, was very devastated by the loss, and he's gone for now. I'm afraid I don't know where he went," Akashi answered, his voice surprisingly passive. 

"Like Ryuu..." he heard Rin mumble. Part of Furihata wanted to nag the boy for bringing up their eldest brother in front of Akashi. (The captain already knew about their father, goodness. They might as well take him to their mother's grave at this point.) However, another part of him just solemnly agreed with Rin as he thought of his elder brother that ran away almost three years prior. Ryuu could very well be dead at this point, and Furihata would never know. 

If Akashi heard the remark (which he undoubted did. Rin wasn't exactly whispering), he didn't comment. Instead, he just stood up, bringing Natsu up with him. He held the tiny ginger with ease as he picked his bag up. "It's okay, I'm sure he'll be back soon. And when he does, I'll make sure he apologizes to Furihata-kun." 

Furihata blinked at the mention of his name, snapping out of his daze. He had gone into shock for a moment upon seeing Akashi carry Natsu on his hip. This whole thing was way too weird. This Original Akashi was weird. Why was he so nice? Why did he not do anything upon hearing so much about their mess of a home life? He didn't even try to act sympathetic and say he was sorry for them or anything. They weren't being turned into Social Services. He didn't even ask about the night after the Winter Cup finals.

It was just...weird. 

 "—Furihata-kun? Are you feeling unwell?" said Akashi. His harsh red eyes were trained on the brown-haired boy, his eyes arched. Furihata shook his head. 

"I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked. 

Akashi sighed, unimpressed. "I'm going to be leaving soon. Are you staying here, or is there someone you need to call to get home?" 

Furihata shook his head. "Um, no, we're just going to catch the bus."

"And we don't have a phone," Shouyou added unhelpfully. 

Furihata sternly shushed the ginger-haired boy and glanced at Akashi sheepishly. The Rakuzan captain stared back blankly. The brown-haired boy quickly averted his eyes and awkwardly cleared his voice. 

"Well, we better be heading out. I have...stuff I need to attend to back home," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry if we caused any inconvenience, Akashi-san." 

Furihata grabbed the twins' hands, one in each palm, and did his best to ignore their complaints. As much as he wanted to give in and let them stay, he had to get to work soon.

"You can just pass Natsu to Shouyou. Have a good day, Akashi-san." Furihata bowed his head and prompted his brothers to do the same. However, when Shouyou moved to grab Natsu, the girl started screaming and clung to Akashi like a koala bear. The duo playing shogi at the table next to them harshly hushed them, and Furihata mumbled a quiet apology. 

For a second, Akashi looked scandalized before it quickly melted away and he let out an exasperated sigh. "I can carry her to the bus station," he said. Furihata shook his head, alarmed. 

"There's no need, Akashi-kun! You can make her get down, she'll be fine!"

Akashi was already walking away. "Trust me. I can tell she won't be letting go very easily, and I don't want to make a scene. This is better than trying to put up a fight." 

Furihata blinked a couple times—was this actually happening?—before clumsily scrambling after the Rakuzan captain out of the park.

 

-.- 

 

If it weren't for his siblings’ insistent chatter, they would've walked in complete silence. Furihata was very grateful for this. He could barely breathe in the tense atmosphere as it was. Natsu cheerfully informed Akashi about the time she tried to keep a random pigeon was a pet. (Furihata remembered this adventure well. Somehow Natsu, who was five at the time, had succeeded in bringing the bird into the apartment and they spent the entire night trying to get it out. The bird pooped everywhere, including Furihata's hair. It wasn't a very happy experience.)

Then Rin and Yukio started bragging about the field trip they had gone on early that month to the ice rink. It had been their favorite trip so far—though Furihata knew it wasn't that they liked ice skating (because they didn't. They were both quite terrible at; not that Furihata could speak. He could barely stay upright on solid ground). They liked it because of a certain friend they had made early on did. Apparently, their little friend (crush) was very skilled at ice skating. Furihata thought it was all very adorable, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to explain the concept of crushes to the twins yet. 

"I'm surprised your teammates aren't celebrating the win this weekend, Furihata-kun. They had been planning on going out, correct?" Akashi commented, almost offhandedly, over his siblings’ chatter. All four of them were bickering over something Furihata didn't quite understand, and he had been focusing very hard to figure it out. He tripped and almost face planted at the sound of his name.

"Oh, um, they still are...they left yesterday for a celebratory trip to some resort that our school is paying for. I just couldn't go because it was recently the twins' birthday and, well, you know," he nodded his heads towards his baby siblings. Akashi hummed, looking contemplative. 

"I'm afraid I don't personally know what it's like, but I can imagine now, I suppose," he said, and Furihata didn't really understand why the statement made him so uncomfortable. Akashi paused for a moment. "Do you have to do it often? Miss out on things for them, I mean?"

This was getting way too personal. Why did Akashi want to know anyway? "Sometimes, I guess," he answered in spite himself. "It gets hard at times, trying to schedule everything out, but it doesn't bother me that I miss out on a lot. I would love to spend time with my friends, don't get me wrong. It bums me out at times when I don't understand all their insides jokes, but...I love spending time with my siblings more."

He could  _feel_  Akashi's eyes burning into him, but Furihata tried his best to ignore them. Instead, he focused on his siblings—his noisy, clumsy, wonderful siblings, and thought that his own words could never be truer. He would trade everything if it meant being by their side for just a second longer.

"S-so what about you, Akashi-san?" Furihata asked, trying to get the attention off his life. 

"Pardon?"

"I-I mean, aren't you missing the holidays with your family right now? I thought your team had already returned to Kyoto..." Furihata stammered, flaring bright red and inwardly cursing himself. He was being too personal, too direct and now Akashi was going to get angry and stab him with scissors, and then he would die and his siblings would be all alone and—

"I don't typically do much for the holidays anyway, so I chose to remain in Tokyo for a while with my old teammates. I had been out with Midorima at the park earlier, but he had an emergency regarding his special item so he had to leave," answered Akashi, surprisingly passive and non-stabby. Furihata nodded stiffly and tried not to faint in relief. 

They didn't ask any more questions after that.

 

-.-

 

By the time they reached the bus stop, Akashi had gotten his shoes stepped on twice on accident by Shouyou; he had to listen to the twins’ gush on and on about their amazing best friend from school; and he had to put up with Natsu treating him like he was a moving tree for her to cling onto. Furihata honestly expected the other boy to be pissed after it all—no one would blame him. Instead, he held a mostly emotionless face, save for a hint of—was that amusement? No way, Furihata had to have lost his mind. The whole ordeal had done him over and now he was hallucinating. 

It took Furihata way too long to realize he was staring. He blushed a bright red for the billionth time that day and coughed to cover up his embarrassment. "Thank you, Akashi-kun," he said, averting his eyes. "Natsu-chan, can you please get down? It's time to go home."

His sister didn't respond, her face buried firmly into Akashi's shoulder. Furihata sighed and moved to pull her off, but the moment he touched her arm she started screaming again. The couple standing looked annoyed as the girl dramatically whined, cried, kicked, screamed, and just threw a massive fit. He tried to ignore them and rubbed a soothing hand on his sister's back to calm her down. 

"Shh, it's okay, no need to scream. You need to let go of Akashi-kun, though. He needs to get home soon as well. Can you please you please come down?" he asked gently. Natsu silently shook her head into Akashi's shoulder. Furihata sighed again.

"Why not?"

His sister sniffled and finally moved her head so she could look at Furihata. "We can't let Aka-chan go, Kaachan. His brother left him, so he needs someone to comfort him." 

Furihata found himself completely speechless and unable to argue back. He glanced at Akashi. The red-haired boy's eyes were wide as he gazed down at the child in his arms. He was looking at Natsu as if she were some freak of a specimen—which was honestly how she was acting right now, all things considered. Who showed genuine concern for someone as terrifying as Akashi Seijuurou? Judging by his face, this could very well be the first time someone did. Furihata was conflicted as to whether he should feel bad about it or not.

Someone tugged on Furihata's sleeve. "We can't let him feel sad all alone, Niichan. You always say that it's bad to be alone when you're upset," Rin whispered poorly. Akashi's eyes flicked over and, if were possible, looked even more stunned.

Shouyou let out a brisk laugh. "You can stay with us for the holidays, Akashi-san! We only have one mattress, but there should be some room next to Oniichan!" 

Furihata let out a strangled gurgling sound at the comment. "No—Akashi-san—Shou you can't just—oh my—please stop," he spewed, unsuccessfully trying to find his voice. He buried his face in his hands and bowed deeply to his fellow teen. "This is so embarrassing...I'm so sorry Akashi-san." 

"It's...okay..." drawled Akashi, still sounding extremely perturbed. The Rakuzan captain suddenly bent down and placed Natsu on the floor, gently pushing away her grabbing hands. "I'm grateful for your concern, Natsu-kun, Rin-kun. However, I am confident that I will be fine on my own. Plus, Shouyou-kun, I'm afraid Furihata-kun isn't quite comfortable having a partial stranger over." 

"That's not—" Furihata stopped himself from finishing since he would be lying if he said it wasn't true. Instead, he took a deep breath and bowed shallowly. 

"Thank you for all your help, Akashi-kun," he breathed, scooping Natsu into his arms. He could see the bus approaching out of the corner of his eye and relaxed slightly. Soon they will part ways and Furihata can pretend this never happened. 

(He ignored the nagging voice that told him that, like last time, this wouldn't go away. With the nickname from Natsu and the concern all his siblings were showing, it was pretty clear they weren't going to forget Akashi very easily.) 

Akashi nodded and turned to leave, but stopped when Yukio grabbed onto his hand. Furihata wanted to scream. Couldn't this just end already? 

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Yukio asked in such a sweet voice it made Furihata swoon. Not even Akashi could seem to be able to resist. Inner conflict lit up his face as he stared down at the boy. Suddenly he sighed and swung his backpack forward. He dug through one of the pockets and pulled out a black phone. 

"Here," he stated, handing it to the youngest boy. "Have this. That way you can keep in contact with me and check up on me when you want, so you won't be worried."

His siblings gathered around the device, looking at it like it was a pot of gold. Natsu shoved her way out of his hold so she could inspect it herself. Furihata stood frozen and felt like collapsing. He shook his head wildly, making himself dizzy in the process.

"We don't—we can't possibly take your phone, Akashi-san!" he stuttered. The red-haired boy shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's a backup phone that I just use in case my original dies. It's an older model, though, and I was planning on replacing it anyway. There's no trouble in you taking it, I assure you."

Furihata glanced down at the phone. This 'older model' had been out for barely over a year, and it was better than most of the phones his friends owned. Also, what kind of person casually carries around a backup phone?

"You don't have to worry about paying for it; my father will cover the phone bills. It has unlimited call, text, and data. It has a different number than my original phone, and only a few people have this number, so you shouldn't worry about people calling it," Akashi explained. "The number you can contact me with is already entered in, at the top of the contact list. You can just delete the rest of the numbers. I ask that you only call me after 7:00 P.M. on weekdays, and after 6:00 P.M. on weekends." 

Furihata blinked slowly. His mouth hung open unattractively and he probably looked like a complete idiot. "Eh...?" he squeaked, adding to his unintelligible appearance. 

Akashi frowned, looking incredibly apathetic. His red eyes flickered to the side. "I believe your bus is here, Furihata-kun." 

Furihata clumsily spun around and saw that the bus had come to a stop and people were trickling off. He turned around, bowed deeply towards Akashi, and awkwardly gathered up his siblings as he herded them towards the bus.  "Thank you, Akashi-san!" he called back. He guided his siblings on and was just about to climb on himself when he felt a strong hold snag his wrist. He squealed instinctively and his head snapped backward. Akashi stood there, looking mildly surprised. 

"I apologize, Furihata-kun. I did not mean to frighten you so much," he said, loosening his grip ever so slightly. Furihata laughed in his mind. Whether he meant to or not, the imposing Rakuzan captain always terrified him. 

"I-It's okay, Akashi-san," he said pathetically. 

Akashi hummed. "Good. Take care, Furihata-kun."

"Hey kid, you getting on or not?" the bus driver irritably snapped. Furihata jumped and pulled his wrist back. He bowed his head and stepped fully on the bus.

"Have a good holiday, Akashi-san." 

The bus doors shut and began to move away. Furihata stood there on the steps for a few moments, watching the red-haired boy slowly slip out of view. He still felt queasy as he paid the fee for his and his siblings' ride; his legs felt wobbly as he stumbled back to where his siblings were seated. The brown-haired boy plopped in the chair next to Shouyou and quickly buried his face in his hands. He needed a break—preferably one that lasted longer than five seconds. 

"Niichan!"

Screw it. 

Furihata groggily lifted his head and shot Rin his best possible smile. "Hey, Rin-chan. Did you have a good time at the festival?" 

The black-haired boy nodded ferociously. "That was the most coolest park in the world. Can we go again soon?"

Natsu started jumping up and down in her seat. "Yeah! We should invite Aka-chan to join us! Yukio-nii, text him and ask!"

"Please sit down, Natsu-chan, you might get hurt. And Yukio-chan, may I please see the phone?" Furihata asked, trying to appear composed while on the inside he was falling apart. Yukio thankfully passed over the cell phone without any argument. He took the expensive device and held it tentatively, not really sure what to do with it. He settled with slipping it into his pocket. 

"Now, I need you all to understand this," he said, looking at his siblings. "While Akashi-san was very nice to let us have this phone, we can't go crazy. He lives far away which means you won't be able to see him that often, and he is probably very busy so you can't always call him. I know you are all worried about him, and I'm happy that you are. It's very kind of you all to be so concerned for Akashi-san. However, he is a very busy person. Promise me you will restrain yourselves from calling him, especially when I'm not around. Okay?" 

His siblings slowly nodded. "Okay, Onnichan," Shouyou said, and the others murmured in agreement. Furihata exhaled deeply and gave them a shaky smile.

"Thank you."

It had barely been thirty seconds before someone was pulling on his sleeve again. "We can still call Akashi-san tonight, right?" Yukio asked in the same voice he had used on Akashi earlier. Furihata caved like a sinkhole and collapsed back in his seat, covering his face. 

"Yes, we can."

 

-.-

 

Akashi said not to call him before 6:00 P.M. on weekends. His siblings hovered over the call button for nearly twenty minutes until 6:01 finally came along.

“It’s time, it’s time!”

“Call him already, Shou-nii! Faster!”

“I’m hurrying!”

“You’re jumping on my foot, nii-san." 

“Sorry, Yukio!”

Furihata sat at their dinky little table and watched the explosion occur. His siblings squabbled like chickens with their heads chopped off. Shouyou stood with the phone, attempting to call Akashi, while Natsu dangled off his back like a chimpanzee, screeching and squealing. Rin and Yukio hovered over them, jumping and waving their hands.

All in all, they had completely lost their minds. Furihata wondered how Akashi would react to their crazy antics. The Rakuzan captain didn’t seem like the one to put up with that kind of behavior—but then again, he does associate with people like Kise Ryouta.

It would be interesting to see where this will go. (He prayed for it to end quickly, painlessly, and without a headache. Something told him, however, that it wouldn’t be that simple. It never was.)

 

-.-

 

Late that night, Furihata held the phone with shaky palms. He had never been accustomed to luxury in his life. Even before the twins were born, his family lifestyle was very...modest. They had what they needed and that was that. No one in their family had ever had a smartphone, or laptop, or television, or other pieces of flashy technology. Only their father had a dinosaur-aged phone for work. Furihata had grown up just thinking that luxuries were for other people.

And now, as he held this affluent piece of state-of-the-art technology, he knew for sure that he was not meant for luxuries. 

The device terrified him. Not only was it fragile and worth more than his life, but it came from Akashi Seijuurou (who was still the Scariest Thing on the Earth, despite his siblings' love for the redhead). By giving them the phone, he was handing over a burden and a debt. A debt Furihata could never, ever pay off, even if he sweated and worked every day for the rest of his life. Akashi had not only given them an expensive gift, but he had given them his silence. He knew their family situation, yet he kept his mouth shut when everyone else would be screaming bloody murder. 

Furihata was in serious debt to Akashi Seijuurou. It stressed him out to wit’s end. 

Because he feared what would happen if Akashi wanted to be repaid. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I went on that hiatus! I go on random periods where I have a ton of motivation and then long stretches of nothing. If any of yall would like to help me out, be a beta or just someone I can talk through writer's blocks and get motivated with, that be so much help. I don't have any personal friends who like KnB so :/
> 
> I hope yall enjoyed!


	4. I Came All This Way (Take a Break)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Furihata doesn’t have a sugar daddy, he’s never had a sugar daddy. If he wanted one, yes, he could go out and get one because he is what? Adorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for my summary, but I couldn't resist.
> 
> Upcoming: Fluff, awkward teens, adorable siblings
> 
> Warning: mentions of neglect, and job-related verbal abuse, along with all my warnings in the tags

 

Furihata didn't see Akashi again until Kuroko's birthday party.

It was a very awkward greeting. They had been exchanging a few words on the phone because of Furihata's siblings, but they never really interacted. Their conversations were always the same:

"Hello, Furihata-kun."

"Hi, Akashi-san."

"Is all going well?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you for asking."

"Good. Take care, Furihata-kun."

"I will, Akashi-san."

It was mechanical, forced, and very cringy. Thankfully, his siblings were always there to take over the conversation when it got like that. His siblings loved to talk to the Rakuzan captain and tell him every single detail of their day; oddly enough Akashi never seemed to mind the constant intrusion on his evening. If Furihata had to guess, he would even say that Akashi seemed to enjoy speaking with his siblings. He always helped Shouyou with math homework, would talk about books with Yukio, and would give cooking tips to Rin. On nights where Furihata had to work, he even would be on the phone late just so he could read Natsu a bedtime story in his stead.

It was just plain freaky.

But at the same time, he couldn’t really complain. It was a nice reassurance, knowing that there was someone out there that cared for his siblings- someone he could (relatively) trust if anything ever happened to any of them.

Furihata just wished he wasn’t so awkward whenever it came to the redhead.

So when he opened the door, expecting to just find Kuroko, and instead found said boy plus the entirety of the Generation of Miracles, it was needless to say he was not nearly mentally prepared enough.

“Oh, Furihata-kun. Are you here for the party as well?” Akashi asked.

Furihata could only nod robotically, his ability to speak immediately gone the moment he saw the Rakuzan captain. If he hadn’t been holding onto the door handle, he probably would have collapsed by now.

“Huh? You two know each other?” Aomine asked incredulously. Furihata just continued to nod, practically subconsciously.

“Ah, yes. We’ve bumped into each other a few times after the Winter Cup,” Akashi explained. Kuroko peered his head over the red-haired boy’s shoulder, blinking innocently.

“Hello, Furihata-kun. I’ve brought a few friends, if you don’t mind,” he said.

A few friends? More like Furihata’s multi-colored demise.

“I-It’s all good, Kuroko!” the brown-haired boy finally managed to squeak out. “P-Please, c-come in.”

He stepped to the side to let them all in, his knees quaking uncontrollably. God, why was he so spastic? It was just Akashi, he (sort of) knew Akashi, his siblings loved Akashi, there was no need to panic….

“Are you alright, Furihata-kun? You’re looking a little pale,” Akashi asked, pausing right in front of the smaller boy. Furihata squeaked and fell backward, his knees fully giving out, and fell directly into Murasakibara’s chest.

 

-.-

 

Furihata managed to pull himself together as the party got underway. Murasakibara, apathetic as usual, had been completely unfazed when the brown-haired boy collapsed on him and kindly carried him inside to deposit him in a seat. Furihata mumbled a thank you and covered his face with his hands, trying his best to mentally recover.

He knew he shouldn’t be so frightened when it came to Akashi by now. This Akashi had proven to be kind, respectful, and sympathetic; nothing like his heterochromatic eyed counterpart that the brown-haired boy had feared so much. The boy, ironically, knew more about Furihata by now than any of his teammates and friends.

Though this, in all honesty, may be the reason he was always so nervous around the Rakuzan captain. While he and Akashi may not have spent that much time together, what Akashi knew was enough to cause a lot of problems if he ever reported it.

And if he reported it, Furihata had no doubt he would never see his siblings again.

“Are you feeling better now, Furihata-kun?” a smooth voice asked. The brown-haired boy jolted and looked up. Akashi was standing above him, holding out a glass of water.

Furihata felt his ears flare up. “Ah, yes, much better,” he said, tentatively taking the cup, his eyes glued to the floor.

Much to his increased distress, Akashi took a seat beside him. “I apologize for shocking you so badly. I should have informed you ahead of time that I was in town.”

Furihata frantically waved it off. “It’s not your fault, Akashi-san! I shouldn’t have freaked out like that, I’m so embarrassed.” His cheeks were starting to burn now, and he took a large sip of his water, hoping to hide it.

“You shouldn’t need to call me that,” the red-haired boy said, leaning back in his seat. Furihata, startled, almost spit out his own drink.

“ _What?!_ ”

The Rakuzan captain eyed him, looking increasingly concerned and perplexed. “The honorific…we are the same age, are we not? It’s alright to address me as Akashi-kun, or just Akashi. If you haven’t noticed, none of the other Miracles are particularly…formal with names.”

“Ah, yes…I mean, I have noticed! Um, Akashi-kun,” Furihata said jerkily, and at that moment, he felt the strongest desire to climb into a hole and stay there for the rest of the night. Akashi, strangely enough, just smiled faintly and took a sip of his own drink.

They fell into an extremely long and awkward silence after that. Furihata was pretty sure he actually heard crickets chirping. If the brown-haired boy didn’t know any better, he would say Akashi looked uncertain of himself, staring intently at his glass. But that was outrageous thinking…right?

“Furihata-kun,” Akashi said suddenly. “I don’t mean to intrude, but—”

“Yo, Akashi, Furihata! C’mon, we’re having cake!” someone suddenly called out, making both boys jolt slightly. Akashi frowned at the interruption, but Furihata could never be more grateful for the timing. He happily made his way over to his Seirin teammates as they gathered around Kuroko and the cake, Akashi trailing behind him. Everyone grabbed a confetti popper.

“On the count of three,” coach Riko ordered. “One. Two. Three!”

Everyone pulled the string on command, sending confetti into the air and cheering, “Happy birthday, Kuroko!” The birthday boy smiled brightly at them.

“Thank you, everyone!”

 

-.-

 

Furihata volunteered to stay back and help clean up. He tried not to read into it when Akashi immediately did the same.

They managed to clean up surprisingly quick, despite the big mess. A fair amount of people stayed behind to help, speeding up the process immensely, and before long they were wishing farewells. Furihata was waving goodbye to his teammates when he noticed Akashi standing off to the side, wishing farewell to his old teammates. The red-haired boy turned around and they made eye contact instantly. Furihata instinctively ducked his head, but that didn’t seem to deter the other from coming over.

“It was good to see you again,” Akashi said. “I meant to ask earlier, but I take it everything is going well?”

Though he didn’t say it, Furihata knew he was alluding to his siblings. 

“Ah, yes. They’re back at the apartment- Shouyou’s in charge. Natsu was a little upset she couldn’t come tonight, so I’m sure you’ll hear an earful about it later. She met Kuroko on her own back at the beginning of the year- just for a second- but has been obsessed with him ever since,” Furihata answered, chuckling lightly.

It was weird. For the longest time, he always wanted to brag and talk about his siblings, but couldn’t because it was unsafe to let anyone know; now that someone knew, he still couldn’t brag about his siblings because his siblings did all the talking for him.

“Aren’t we all,” Akashi responded. “I take it I can expect a call from them tonight?”

“Um, I can tell them not tonight if you’re too busy? It is pretty late already,” Furihata said frantically, his hands beginning to sweat. Akashi waved it off nonchalantly.

“No, it’s quite alright. I’ve found I enjoy receiving calls from them, actually. It’s been a long time since people talked to me so casually; I didn’t realize that until today, meeting up with my old teammates…”

Furihata realized then that he was feeling something that he didn’t like was possible: compassion for Akashi.

It must have been weird, not being in control of your own body for over a year. Akashi practically woke up in a new world, with new friends and teammates, and a lack of old ones. Now that Furihata thought about it, his siblings were very likely some of the first people the Original Akashi interacted with after he ‘woke up’, so to speak.

Maybe that’s why he put up with his siblings’ antics; anyone he met in high school only knew the Other Akashi, and anyone he knew before high school had drifted away after meeting the Other Akashi. His siblings, in their innocence, didn’t know the difference, nor did they care.

Furihata found himself smiling brightly. “I see, Akashi-kun. And you can always count on them to chat your ear off.”

Akashi didn’t say anything, just stared, his face blank. He blinked multiple times, his eyes never leaving Furihata’s face. The brown-haired boy could feel his insecurities creeping up, and his smile fell gradually. He twisted his fingers uncomfortably.

“Um, well, I should probably get home. I told my siblings I’d be back home by 9:30, and I don’t want them to worry,” he said. He bowed farewell. “Have a good night!”

That seemed to snap the Rakuzan captain out of his apart daze, and he bowed in return. “Take care, Furihata-kun.”

The brown-haired boy could help but beam upon hearing the consistent sendoff. He waved goodbye as he began to walk away. “I will, Akashi-kun!”

 

-.-

 

When he got home, he passed the phone to his eagerly awaiting siblings and went to the bathroom to change his clothes. When he came back out, he was greeted by the furies.

“Kaachan!” Natsu wailed, pulling at his pant leg angrily. “I wanna see Aka-chan! Why can’t I see Aka-chan too?”

“Yeah, how come you gotta see him and we didn’t?” Shouyou asked, pouting. “That’s no fair!”

Furihata just blinked. This wasn’t really happening, was it? But then again, shouldn’t he have expected this? Their borderline obsession with Akashi was getting quite concerning.

“I didn’t even know he was coming,” Furihata answered, trying to soothe his angry siblings. He ran his hand through Rin’s hair comfortingly. “It was all a big surprise, really.”

“It’s okay, Oniisan,” Yukio said. Furihata noticed he was the one holding the phone. “Akashi apologized and promised to take us out tomorrow to make up for it. He said he wanted us to check with you first, though.”

“W-What?” Furihata said, his brain short-circuiting. _He promised what now?_

“We can go, right? Pretty please?” Rin asked, giving his infamous puppy eyes. Furihata cursed the unidentifiable force that made it impossible to say no to those beautiful blue eyes.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. It was much too late for this. “Go where, exactly? And when?”

“Akashi just said somewhere fun, and it would be after his team’s practice match against Yosen in the morning,” Shouyou answered quickly. “Can we _please_ go, Oniichan? Please?”

His siblings started echoing the request desperately, and Furihata, as usual, didn’t have the heart to tell them no. 

“Fine,” he relented. “Just remember I work a lot tomorrow, okay?”

“Yes, Niichan!” Rin answered loudly while his siblings cheered. Natsu clambered up Furihata’s torso to give him a koala-like hug while Shouyou jumped up and down like a maniac. The brown-haired twin pulled out the phone again and hit a few buttons on the device.

“Hello? Akashi-san? Oniisan said it’d be okay,” Yukio said into the phone. Furihata couldn’t hear the Rakuzan captain’s reply, but judging by the smile on the glasses-wearing twin’s face, it was more exciting news.

As he watched his siblings squabble for the phone, Furihata wondered what his life had become. He was actually going to be casually meeting up with Akashi Seijuurou outside of basketball. The annoying part of his mind noted that Akashi was only doing it for his siblings; there was no way he actually wanted to meet up with Furihata. Judging by how much the brown-haired boy had to work tomorrow, the Rakuzan captain wasn’t even intending for him to tag along.

 _It’s no surprise,_ Furihata thought bitterly as he picked Natsu up and playfully hung her by her feet, forcibly smiling as she broke into giggles. _Like there’d be any chance someone as incredible as Akashi would ever want to hang out with someone as pathetic as me._

 

-.-

 

Furihata came home from his morning shift at the restaurant to utter chaos. He had been planning on taking a five-hour nap until his shift at the convenience store at four o’clock, but when he opened the door and was instantly tackled by Rin, he knew he wasn’t going to have that luxury.

“Niichan!” the boy exclaimed. “You need to hurry! Akashi-san is going to be here any minute!”

Furihata’s brain stuttered as he struggled to set the black-haired boy on his hip. “Huh? What do you mean, Rin-chan?”

Rin giggled. “Akashi-san is taking us out today, remember? Did you forget already?” he teased, tapping his older brother’s head lightly.

Furihata had most definitely not forgotten. The whole situation was practically burned into his mind. “I didn’t think he was intending I come along…” he admitted awkwardly. His little brother looked at him like he lost his mind.

“Of course he wants you to come along, silly! He timed it so you’d be here and everything.”

It was impossible for him to fight the blush. “He did…?”

“Oniichan!” Shouyou called out, his face pressed against the apartment window. “Akashi-san is here!”

“W-Wait! He’s coming up to the apartment?” Furihata cried distraught, putting Rin down on the ground. He couldn’t imagine someone as posh looking as Akashi trying to walk through his apartment. It was like begging for trouble.

He wasn't oblivious. He knew they lived in one of the worst apartment buildings in one of the worst neighborhoods on the wrong side of Tokyo. He knew the people that lived across the hall grew marijuana, and the people above them ran part of the drug cartel in Tokyo. He heard the rumors that the old lady that lived on his left was suspected for the murder of her husband, and that the apartment on his right often hosted illegal gambling parties. The building itself was practically owned by gangbangers, prone to random acts of violence to assert their dominance.

Furihata had become a seasoned pro at avoiding people in his apartment building. Thankfully, it seemed to be an accepted standard to leave children alone, so his siblings were relatively safe, but teenagers like himself were normally a big target for forced gang membership. He had a few close calls with some gangsters in the past, and there were a few terrifying instances when they almost cornered him, but if Furihata was anything, he was cowardly, and he was insignificant looking. He had learned how to move undetected in his building.

Akashi, with his commanding aura and bright red hair, couldn’t go unnoticed even if he tried. It was all a disaster waiting to happen.

After a few solid minutes of fretting, there was a knock on the door. Furihata ran over, and without pausing to check who it was, reached out and grabbed the red-haired boy. He practically threw the Rakuzan captain inside his apartment, hurriedly locking the door behind him.

“Furihata-” Akashi began to say, frowning deeply. The boy probably wasn’t used to being thrown around, but at the moment Furihata couldn’t care less. His overprotective, mother-bear side, normally reserved for his siblings, had completely taken over.

“Are you okay? Did anyone try to stop you on your way up? Was anyone looking at you suspiciously?” he said, frantically searching the Rakuzan captain for visible injury. There thankfully weren’t any, but that still didn’t settle Furihata’s panic.

Akashi almost looked scandalized at this point. “I’m fine, Furihata-kun. The only person I saw on my way up here was a man in the elevator and judging by his smell, he had recently been drinking. I doubt he should be of any concern.”

Furihata sighed. “Good,” he mumbled. Then, like someone flipped a switch, his expression turned much firmer, and he pointed his finger at the boy sternly. “Have you lost your mind?! You’ve got know better than to casually stroll through a neighborhood like this! And I can’t believe my siblings didn’t warn you!”

He turned to look at his guilty-looking siblings, who had gathered once Akashi arrived. They wisely avoided eye contact, knowing better than to challenge Furihata when they were being disciplined.

“It’s okay, Furihata-kun. Your concern is much appreciated, but I should let you know that I never go anywhere potentially dangerous without a security team accompanying me, following me from a reasonable distance,” Akashi said, lightly touching Furihata’s shoulder. The brown-haired boy froze instantly, embarrassed for his actions settling in. The tips of his ears burned.

“Ah, right. Of course,” he said sheepishly. He wished he could just curl up and hide. Preferably in a hole. “Sorry about that. It’s just not very safe in my apartment building for anyone that looks like they might have money…”

Akashi pursed his lips, his eyes doing a once-over the apartment. Furihata couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. Akashi probably lived in an elaborate mansion with maids and cooks; meanwhile, Furihata lived in a cramped one bedroom apartment with a broken couch, a singular old mattress, a barely stalked kitchen, and cardboard boxes to serve as places to keep their clothes. It was embarrassing.

There was an odd look in Akashi’s eyes as he turned back at the odd bunch of siblings. Furihata couldn’t tell if it was sorrow or pity. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Are we gonna go, Aka-chan?” Natsu asked, pulling lightly on the boy’s pant leg and holding her arms out expectantly. Akashi seemed to snap out of his daze and smiled down at the little girl, compliantly picking her up.

“Ah, yes, of course, Natsu,” he said, but then paused, eyeing Furihata’s waiter uniform uncertainly. “You are still attending with us, correct, Furihata-kun?”

Furihata looked down at his clothes needlessly, scratching the back of his neck. “Um, I don’t know…I have another shift in a few hours at the convenience store.”

“Aww, Oniichan!” Shouyou whined. “You’ve got to come! Pretty please?”

Furihata pursed his lips. “I don’t want to pressure you all for time or anything—”

“Please, Oniisan,” Yukio pleaded. He and Rin used their frustrating puppy eyes at the same time, their blue orbs shining. Furihata sighed and rubbed his face. What has his life become?

“Fine,” he relented, much to his sibling’s excitement, grabbing clothes to change in to. “I need to be to be at work by four o’clock, and no latter, okay? My boss is crazy about punctuality.”

His siblings echoed their compliance, and Furihata made eye contact with Akashi for a brief second. The Rakuzan looked amused, a light smile on his face. It was unusual compared to his usually stoic and serious demeanor, but it looked good on him.

(Furihata banished the thought the moment it appeared. Natsu’s constant ‘Aka-chans’ were starting to rub off on him.)

 

-.-

 

“You work quite often, don’t you, Furihata-kun?” Akashi asked quietly once they settled in the car, making sure the younger siblings couldn’t hear. It wasn’t hard, considering Furihata was sitting right next to him (or squished was more like it. Akashi’s car was large, but six people plus a driver was kind of pushing it).

“Um, I guess. As often as I can,” the brown-haired boy answered absentmindedly, more focused on getting Natsu to stay in her seat. “No, you cannot roll down the window, Shouyou. Rin stop kicking Yukio, I can see you doing it.”

Once he got his siblings to settle down, he turned back to the Rakuzan captain. “I don’t really have much of a choice,” he elaborated. He tried to meet Akashi’s eyes, but his gaze was so intense he couldn’t hold it longer than a few milliseconds. “Money has always been kind of tight for us. My, uh, father…we just need the extra income to cover the necessities outside of rent, basically.”

He noticed how Akashi had honed in at the mention of his father. He made a mental note to ensure that topic was taboo. While it seemed like they were just headed on a downward slope when it came to keeping his life a secret, Furihata would be damned before he just conceded and confessed all his problems.

“Is it not against the rules at your school for you to have a job?”

“Ah, no, it is…” Furihata said, instinctively ducking his head. He added another strike to the mental list of ‘Bad Things Akashi Knows About the Furihatas’. “But I guess I don’t really have much of an option, anyways. I don’t want them to start working young, too.”

He gazed at his sibling’s lovingly, even as they bickered among each other over some senseless topic. He could feel Akashi’s stare, practically burning his eyes in his head the entire time and Furihata tried not to focus too much on it, resisting the urge to shuffle. He was much too skittish for any kind of attention, much less that of someone as commanding as Akashi.

“Furihata-kun,” the Rakuzan captain called out, his voice soft yet still authoritative, and Furihata could help but turn to look at the boy. Akashi’s eyes were less piercing than earlier, no longer interrogating the boy. “I know it’s not my place, but if you need money to help support them, I am more than willing to help.”

Furihata blinked. Then blinked again. And again.

“I’m not looking for a sugar daddy, Akashi-kun, nor am I a charity case,” he deadpanned, staring as bluntly as he could, trying to channel his inner Kuroko.

Akashi looked absolutely scandalized, and Furihata would swear until the day he died that the Rakuzan captain’s ears turned as red as his hair. “That’s not what I was intending at all, Furihata-kun. Please don’t misunderstand, I was just offering help.”

If Furihata wasn’t still paranoid that Akashi carried around scissors with him everywhere, he would have burst out laughing. Who would have thought _he’d_ be the one to make Akashi panic, if only for a second. The world must truly be coming to an end.

“Um, Kaachan, Aka-chan?” Natsu pipped up. Her little chubby cheeks were puffed out as she frowned, clearly perplexed. “What’s a sugary daddy?”

_Oh. Oh please no._

“Is it a dad that gives out a lot of candy? Can we get one?” Rin asked excitably.

“He already said no, didn’t you hear?” Yukio reprimanded his older twin. Rin crossed his arms, pouting, mumbling “Why not?” and a chain of unidentifiable complaints.

Furihata pointedly did not look at the equally flustered Akashi, his cheeks flaring red as his siblings heavily debated the concept of ‘sugary daddies’.

 

-.-

 

When Akashi said he would ‘take them out’, Furihata assumed it would be to a park like last time. He was partially correct. He just wasn’t thinking it’d be an _amusement_ park.

The brown-haired boy hadn’t stopped gaping since they arrived. “Akashi-kun, you didn’t—this is just—you don’t have to pay so much for us, really.”

Despite his protests, the Rakuzan captain still handed over his credit card to pay for the tickets. “As I’ve already told you in the car, I have no quarrels with spending money on you or your siblings. If you feel uncomfortable, then please just think of it as a simple gift.”

 _Just like the phone?_ Furihata wondered anxiously. He wondered how many of these ‘gifts’ it would take receiving before he would start to reap the consequences.

His siblings, on the other hand, were bursting at the seams. They had never seen an amusement park in person—just pictures of them in advertisements. For them, this was a dream come true. Rin and Shouyou had already acquired a map of the park and were strategically planning out every single ride they would hit. Furihata felt his stomach turn inside-out at the mention of roller coasters.

Maybe Akashi was planning on subtly killing him after all.

 

-.-

 

Whether he was trying to kill him or just be a gentleman, Akashi volunteered to stay back with Natsu on the rides she was too small to go on, leaving Furihata to ride all the big rides with his brothers. And Furihata, true to his coward identity, was utterly, completely, down to his core terrified of roller coasters.

He tried to reason with Akashi, offered to switch off with him on who has to sit out, but the red-haired boy was, of course, absolute on his decision, telling him to ‘go have fun’ with his brothers.

This was not fun. This was the heaven’s own personal cruel and unusual punishment.

His siblings seemed oblivious of his terror; while he was screaming bloody murder, his brothers were laughing their heads off, having competitions to see who could hold their arms up the longest.

After he got off the third coaster, his hands cramping from holding on so tightly and knees knocking together, Akashi finally seemed to clue in on the problem. Adjusting his hold on Natsu so she rested on his other hip, the Rakuzan captain lightly grabbed onto Furihata’s arm, likely to keep him from collapsing on the spot.

“Perhaps we should move on to some more gentle activities. We can finish the rides afterward,” Akashi said, adding on the last part to suppress Shouyou’s inevitable protests. Furihata almost started crying in relief.

They settled with playing the carnival games scattered throughout the park. Under normal circumstances, Furihata would have objected due to the additional cost to play, but at this point, he was willing to do anything to stay away from to thrill rides.

Unsurprisingly, Furihata was quite terrible at all the games, coming in dead last every time, while Akashi was victorious almost every time. He was, surprisingly, beaten once by Yukio on a shooting game; the younger twin looked so happy Furihata thought he might cry.

“Excellent job, Yukio. Your marksman skills truly are admirable,” the red-haired boy conceded, smiling gently as the worker handed over the prize.

Yukio didn’t even seem to care about his prize at all, treating Akashi’s praise as the greatest award of all. Furihata never thought he’d ever see the Rakuzan captain look proud to lose (wasn't his whole split-personality caused by his desire to be victorious?), but then again, his siblings always seemed to be the exception.

They were walking around, the twins telling Akashi their latest adventures with their special ice skating ‘friend’, and the Rakuzan captain politely expressing his admiration even though he had never met the subject of the boys’ affection. All discussion came to a stop when Natsu gasped impressively loud for her small lungs, her eyes locked on something off to the side. Furihata turned to look, curious, and found an obnoxiously oversized stuffed lion prize hanging next to a basketball carnival game. One more glance back at his sister, and it was clear she had fallen in love.

“Kaachan…” she said, her awe evident. “It’s so fluffy…”

Shouyou giggled, grabbing Furihata’s hand and dragging him over to the game. “Look, it’s a basketball game too! You can totally win this!”

The brown-haired boy awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. As much as he appreciated his sibling’s faith in his basketball skills, he was afraid it was faultily placed at times.

“Ah, I’m not so sure…” he said. When he saw how affronted they looked, he quickly backtracked. “I mean, shooting isn’t my strongest suit. But- but how about you ask Akashi-kun? You remember from the Winter Game, right? He’s amazing!”

Akashi looked startled at the mention of his name. Furihata’s siblings looked between him and the Rakuzan captain, as if trying to debate what Furihata was saying was true or not.

“I thought he said that was his twin brother?” Rin asked, frowning deeply. Akashi’s eyes widened astoundingly large and Furihata almost choked on his spit, desperately trying to think of how to talk his way out of this mess. How do explain the concept of split personalities to a nine-year-old?

Of course, the child with all the answers, Yukio, tried to do it with him. “It was, Niisan, but it was also him at the same time. Somehow.”

“How can you be two people at once?” Shouyou asked, puzzled, while Rin asked, “Is it a ‘twin thing’, like Yuu-chan says? Can Yukio and I do it too?”

Furihata just slapped his hand to his forehead while Akashi chuckled softly, placing Natsu on the ground. He walked up to the worker and handed her the money to play, accepting the basketball in return. As he stepped up to the three-pointer line, he turned back to the group of siblings, smirking sharply.

“I assure you,” he said, his tone playful yet still had that competitive edge. “I am just as skilled as my brother.”

And he was. The objective of the game was to make as many three-pointers as possible in three minutes, and while Akashi wasn’t nearly as big of a beast as Midorima when it came to shooting, he was still a Miracle. Every shot was thoroughly calculated and controlled, swishing through the hoop every time. Furihata and his siblings stood off to the side, cheering the Rakuzan captain along.

“Go, Aka-chan, go!”

“Good shot, Akashi-san!”

“King of the Court!”

The countdown approached the last few seconds. The Rakuzan captain, who had already racked up nearly 90 points, prepared to make his final shot. Furihata found himself unable to resist joining in on the cheers, cupping his hands around his mouth.

“You got this, Akashi-kun!”

At the last second, just as the ball was leaving his hand, Akashi arms jerked forward, as if he was startled. The shot went slightly wide and bounced off the hoop, but the Rakuzan captain paid no mind. He stared at Furihata with that now infamous unidentifiable look, his cheeks lightly dusted red (it was because of exertion, right?) The brown-haired boy blushed, lowering his hands awkwardly, and Akashi’s intense red gaze seemed to track the movement.

The peculiar moment passed when his siblings rushed the captain, completely in awe and even more enthralled with Akashi than they already had been before. The stunned worker, blinking at the red-haired boy like he was some freak of nature (which he kind of was), wordlessly passed over the giant stuffed lion. Akashi smirked triumphantly and proudly gave it to an eagerly awaiting Natsu.

“Thank you, Aka-chan!” she cried, trying to give the boy a hug, but was hysterically unsuccessful because of the humongous stuffed animal already occupying her arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank, you, thank you, thank you!”

“That was totally wicked, Akashi-san!” Shouyou said, his eyes blown wide. “You shot so smoothly, and the ball just went _fwoop_ , like it was nothing!”

“You made, like, a bazillion shots per minute!” Rin exclaimed while Yukio muttered about how bazillion wasn’t a real number.

Grinning ear to ear, Furihata turned to the Rakuzan captain. Though his cowardly instincts told him to be fearful, he couldn’t help but see Akashi in a bit different light. He may still be the almighty Emperor, but he was much more benevolent than the man Furihata met on the court.

After all, someone willing to win a stuffed animal for a child couldn’t be too bad, right?

“Thank you for doing that,” he said before hastily adding on, “for them, I, uh, mean. But also kinda for me? I’m obviously not the star they always think I am, so it’s hard whenever they don’t understand that…”

His cheeks flamed brighter when Akashi gave him a frustratingly stunning smile. “Of course, Furihata-kun. You should know, though, that I don’t believe missing a few baskets will ever make them see you any less than the sun itself.”

That’s it. Furihata was dead. Deceased. The Other Akashi had gotten what he wanted all along.

“Kaachan, what’s wrong? Your face is all red.”

“Do you need sunscreen, Niichan?”

“I-I’m fine!”

 

-.-

 

For the remaining time at the amusement park, Akashi had volunteered to go on the rides with the younger boys while Furihata got to stay back with Natsu and her giant lion, which she appropriately named ‘Akachannie’, much to her brother’s embarrassment and the Rakuzan captain’s apparent pleasure. The toy was as tall as his sister, which was completely unnecessary for a toy, but clearly a desirable trait if how much she was clinging on it was anything to go by.

Before they knew it, it was approaching the time to leave if they wanted to get Furihata back in time to go to work. Akashi decided they had time to go on one more ride, preferably one everyone could go on.

“What about the rapid ride?” Rin suggested, looking at the map. “Natsu is tall enough, and it says six people can go at a time. It’s perfect!”

“The only concern is that it is a water ride,” Akashi noted, looking over the young boy’s shoulder. “I don’t reason it would be a suitable idea to soak your brother from head-to-toe before his shift at work.”

All five pairs of eyes went to him, and Furihata instinctively clammed up under the attention. “Um…don’t only a few people get wet on those rides? I’m sure I’ll be fine,” he said encouragingly.

Akashi scrutinized him for a second before shrugging. “If you truly believe so, Furihata-kun.”

 

-.-

 

So yeah, _maybe_ Furihata should have thought this through a bit before agreeing to it. But in his defense, he was never very good under immediate pressure. He was more of a settle-into-it, slow-the-pace kind of guy.

The rapid ride’s cart was shaped like a giant circular tube raft, with a round bar in the middle to hold on to, and three sets of seats wrapping around the circular inside perimeter. The twins and the Hinatas instantly rushed to claim seats next to each other, which left Furihata no choice but to sit by Akashi. That was problem number one.

Problem number two was that yes, while it was possible to come off the rapid ride with very little water on you, that was for people with luck.

Furihata was not one of those people.

It seemed like every wave, water guzzler, or waterfall hit his seat, and subsequently, Akashi. Halfway through the ride, Furihata’s hair was already matted to his face and there wasn’t a dry spot left on his shirt.

“I should have picked a better seat,” he bemoaned before screeching when he realized he and Akashi were on the side of the raft headed straight for the largest rapid yet. He frantically reached out for something to grab on to. “No, no, no, no, no! Not again!”

His pleas went unanswered, and they crashed into the rapid at full force. A huge wave splashed over the side and absolutely covered the already soaked teens. Furihata’s siblings, the helpful angels they were, just giggled and cackled. They barely had a drop on them.

This ride was so rigged.

It wasn’t until the ride was coming to an end that Furihata realized that, in his desperation to find a hand grip, he had latched on to Akashi’s sleeve, leaving wrinkles in the soaked fabric. He instantly let go and began stuttering for an apologize.

“I-I’m so sorry, Akashi-kun, I was j-just being a little dramatic about the ride. I d-didn’t even notice till now, I swear,” he sputtered, prepared to beg on his knees for forgiveness. It was so embarrassing, getting caught holding on to someone you only partially know for dear life. Especially when that someone is Akashi Seijuurou.

Though, as he had with all the mishaps so far, the Akashi heir merely brushed it off like it was nothing. It seemed like a nice courteously- or maybe the red-haired boy had already grown accustomed to the Furihata family’s informal, awkward conduct. Neither made Furihata feel any better.

“Pay no mind, Furihata-kun. I’m afraid I wasn’t expecting such a thrill either,” he said, smoothing at his sleeve before his eyes quickly glanced over Furihata’s body, his frown furrowing. “Your clothes are drenched now, however. We’re going to need to stop by your apartment before you head to work, which means you’ll likely be late…I apologize for putting you in this position, Furihata-kun.”

It was the brown-haired boy’s turn to wave off the apologize. “I should’ve thought it through, in retrospect. Don’t feel too bad about it, Akashi-kun. I actually…I-I really had fun.”

Akashi’s usually harsh gaze softened. “I’m glad.”

“I had fun too, Akashi-san!” Shouyou exclaimed, jumping at the Rakuzan captain to tackle him with a hug. Like a chain reaction, all of Furihata’s siblings flocked to Akashi, clinging off him like he was a jungle gym.

“Me three!” the twins cried at the same time before scowling at each other and arguing over who said it first. “You’re four!” “No, _you’re_ four. I’m three!”

Natsu passed off her stuffed lion to her eldest brother so she could clamber up on Akashi’s back, forcing the red-haired boy to give her a piggyback ride. She wrapped her arms around the boy’s neck, giving him a tight hug.

“This was the bestest day ever!” she cried, pressing her cheek against Akashi’s. “Thank you, Aka-chan!”

 

-.-

 

Furihata ended up getting to work late. Between herding his siblings out of the amusement park, to going back to the apartment to change into dry clothes, to making sure his siblings were settled for the night, it was needless to say they were a little behind schedule. Akashi had thankfully offered to drive him to the store so he wouldn’t have to walk like usual. As the driver pulled up, Furihata bid the Rakuzan captain a brief farewell before running inside.

His boss, the demented man he was, was visibly waiting for the brown-haired boy outside the door, his arms crossed and his gaze scrutinizing. Furihata noted there weren’t any customers around. They had probably all been scared away.

“So you chose to join us after all, huh?” he sneered. Furihata didn’t bother pointing out there was no one else around for there to be an ‘us’, and instead just focused on walking to his spot behind the cash register. His boss followed him, nagging the entire time.

“I feel like I should be honored you even showed up. You clearly don’t need this job, if that fancy car is anything to go by. A chauffeur and everything,” he commented, leaning over the counter and shoving his nose in Furihata’s face. “I guess it makes sense why you showed up late. You clearly had to pay up for privileges like that. So tell me, Furihata. Does your sugar daddy like to take his time, or does he slow you down by asking for blows before you go anywhere?”

Furihata gritted his teeth. He knew better than to poke the bear, but he knew if he didn’t say something that his boss wouldn’t shut up about it for weeks.

“I don’t have a sugar daddy. It was just a friend dropping me off,” he muttered. His boss scoffed, finally leaning back and getting out of Furihata’s space.

“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” the man goaded. “Well, since you don’t have a sugar daddy paying your bills, need I remind you that I am the one who signs your checks? Under the counter, I might add, since I’m technically not supposed to hire students. So next time you’re spending time with your ‘friend’, remember to speed it up and get to work on time. Because next time, I don’t think I’ll be so generous, and then you really will be looking for a sugar daddy.”

Furihata just nodded submissively, his eyes trained on the counter and hands shaking in humiliation. His boss chuckled and reached across the counter, patting his cheek in the most patronizing manner possible. The brown-haired boy felt tears prick in his eyes.

“Good boy. Now get to work.”

 

-.-

 

Towards the end of the shift, his boss called Furihata over to receive his schedule for the upcoming weeks. The condescending man sneered and practically threw it at the brown-haired boy, making it fall to the floor.

“I took the liberty of ensuring your little friend won’t be a distraction anymore. I hope you’ll learn your lesson after this,” the man taunted before forcibly pushing his way past the teen. Furihata flinched and picked his schedule up—and then almost dropped it again.

He stared at the paper in shock; this had to be a joke. He was scheduled twice as many hours for the next two weeks. Add in his shifts at the restaurant, and he won’t even be able to attend a single basketball practice, much less be around during the day for his siblings. They’re going to be practically on their own for the next two weeks, and it was all because of his repulsive boss.

He buried his face in his hands and told himself it was all worth it.

(He prayed he was right.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update after only two weeks! I'm so proud of myself!!!! And it couldn't have been possible without my new, wonderful beta, Qikdaelun. Please go support my beta's awesome works as well! https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qikdaelun/pseuds/Qikdaelun
> 
> I also couldn't have done it without y'alls support. So many of yall reached out to talk with me, I am sooooo grateful. I'm posting an email on my profile if y'all ever have questions, insights, or opinions on my story.
> 
> I hope to stick to a bi-weekly update or less. Next chapter, I bring in the GoM in full!!!


	5. You're On Your Own (Awesome. Wow.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aomine and Kagami won’t stop arguing. Mursakibara just wants his snack. Midorima prays for the children. Kuroko has a midlife crisis. Momoi tries to help. And it all boils down to one question: Where’s Kise?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks later, as promised! Special shout outs to Qikdaelun, my lovely beta, and Camchameleon, my email buddy. If anyone wants to fangirl about Akafuri or talk about LASEF, just shoot me an email! It's posted on my dashboard!
> 
> Upcoming: POVs other than Furihata's
> 
> Warning: completely inaccurate descriptions of shogi games, allusions to the warnings I tagged

When Kouki wasn’t home, Shouyou was in charge. The ginger-haired boy took this responsibility very seriously.

Typically, his older brother was at work all morning and night on weekends, and four out of the five evenings on weekdays, so Shouyou ended up being in charge quite often. Typically; however, Kouki tried to reserve some part of the day—usually afternoons so he can pick them up from school after basketball practice—to check up on them and make sure everything was in order.

The past two weeks have not been typical at all.

Kouki had to work afternoons as well this week, which meant the only time he got to see his siblings was very late at night and at the crack of dawn. This meant that it was all up to Shouyou to make sure everyone had some sort of thing to take to school for lunch, drop off and pick up his siblings at the elementary school, make them all something edible for dinner, guarantee all school work was completed, and get them all ready for bed. It was slightly overwhelming, to say the least.

At least Akashi was there to help. Well, sort of.

They talked on the phone with the red-haired teen as often as possible nowadays, instead of just sticking to the original hours given to them. Akashi didn’t seem to mind, fortunately. He’d help them through school work, made sure they were leaving the house with everything they needed, and double checked hat they were eating at least semi-properly.

He often asked about Furihata as well—clearly worried—but unfortunately, Shouyou and his younger siblings didn’t really have an answer themselves. The brown-haired boy would slink in late at night, make sure their father didn’t make a scene, put them all to bed then go to the other room to work on homework. They assumed he went to sleep—he had too eventually, right? In the morning, he was always awake before them, wishing them goodbye before heading out again.

Shouyou liked to think he did a pretty good job watching over his siblings…at least the first four days or so. He doesn’t know how Kouki manages to constantly keep track of everything. It was _exhausting_ after the first day. At this point, he was fully convinced that his older brother simply wasn’t human; that’s the only way to explain how he does Natsu’s hair, prepares Yukio’s medicine, helps Rin make lunches, and guarantees Shouyou has everything packed for school, all while taking care of himself every morning.

By the fifth day, Shouyou had tangled a comb in Natsu’s hair, spilled Yukio’s pills on the floor, mixed up everyone’s lunches, and completely forgotten to pick up Rin from detention.

He was honestly just glad he hadn’t set anything on fire… yet.

 

-.-

 

Though he would never actually admit it out loud, the one perk of having to constantly take care of his siblings was that Shouyou had an excuse to not go to volleyball practice.

Anyone who slightly knew him is well aware of his obsession with the sport, which formed very young, even before he came to live with the Furihatas. It all started with the Small Giant from Karasuno, a school from the Miyagi prefecture (and his dream school, once upon a time). He lived, breathed the sport. After the car accident, there were only two things he was able to hold on to—Natsu and volleyball.

So, while he loved practicing volleyball, he absolutely loathed going to practice.

More so, he loathed going to practice with his teammates

When he had to move to Tokyo, he knew no one and was an outsider for a very long time. Most of the other kids didn’t feel comfortable around him when they learned he was an orphan, and it only got worse when news spread that one of his guardians committed suicide. He stayed mostly to himself until his fourth year in elementary school, when he saw a group of boys in his class playing the sport he adored. He mustered up enough courage to ask to join, only to immediately get turned down. They mocked his height, or said that the didn’t want to hang out with the boy who probably killed his parents.

Now, three years later, despite proving himself by earning a spot in the junior high volleyball club, those classmates turned teammates still tortured him for the same reasons and more. They mocked his poor receiving skills and his clumsy nature. They would refuse to set for him, claiming someone his height could never be able to hit, despite how many times he showed them his jumping capabilities. The captain seemed to listen to the bullies and forced him to only work on receiving, saying that Shouyou should focus on becoming a libero, not a spiker.

So yeah, practice was not his favorite place in the world.

He found sanctuary in an old, rundown basketball court, where he could hit a ball against a wall in solitude. No one ever came down there (during the daytime at least. He’s pretty sure drug dealers operate there at night), so he could practice as much as he wanted without fear of being judged. It’s where he can go to release all of his bubbling emotions whenever he feels suffocated in the apartment. Coming from a family where everyone’s life is just as hard and miserable as the other, it made it uncomfortable to complain about personal problems without feeling fickle or whiny.

There have been many nights where Shouyou wished he could pull Kouki aside and vent for hours about the bullying and how lonely he felt all the time. But taking that much time out of the high schooler’s day probably meant having him skip work, and skipping work meant missing out on money, and missing out on any cent in this family meant taking away a prescription from Yukio, a new pair of socks, or dinner one night.

And while Akashi was always a phone call away, there was still only so much he felt he could tell the red-haired boy. Kouki had made it clear since they were young that they needed to keep their home life a secret, and not even Akashi was the exception (though in many ways, he kind of was).

So, instead, he vented by smacking an old volleyball as hard as he could against the wall.

This is where Shouyou found himself a week after Kouki started his new intensive work schedule. It was the late afternoon, and he had just finished picking all of his siblings up from school. While he felt bad leaving his three younger siblings in the apartment alone, they didn’t really need him. Rin (when he wasn’t having to stay late because of his recent influx of detentions) always made dinner on his own anyway, and Natsu always turned to Yukio for homework help. Despite being the next oldest, he was nowhere near as responsible as Kouki. He was basically useless.

He slammed the ball down especially hard, and it ricocheted far over his head, all the way to the other side of the court and heading towards the gate. Startled, he sprinted after it before it rolled into the street. When he was inches from grasping it, a foot came out of nowhere and stopped it. Hesitantly, his eyes traced upwards and his heart dropped when he realized who stood before him.

“Hey, is this your ball Chibi?” drawled Wakamura Tessai, resident volleyball ace and source of Shouyou’s nightmares. Behind him stood Kansuke Nagata and Asano Tomiichi, Wakamura’s best friends and accomplices in his quest to make everyone else miserable. The small ginger swallowed nervously.

“Uh, y-yes, it is Wakamura,” he said hesitantly. “May I have it back, please?”

He reached to grab it, but Wakamura rolled it away with his heel, scooped it underneath his toe, and kicked it up in the air so he could hold it.

“Not so fast, Chibi,” Wakamura teased, holding the ball up high above his head. “It was very generous of me to keep your ball from rolling out in the street. I think you should thank me first.”

Shouyou gritted his teeth. “Thank you so much for your help, Wakamura,” he choked out before jump slightly for the ball. The giant just smirked and held it higher.

“Nuh-uh-uh. I’m a hard person to satisfy, short stuff. You’re going to need to do a lot more than that.” Wakamura bent down so his mouth was next to Shouyou’s ear. “I want you to get on your hands and knees and beg like the pathetic little dog you are.”

 

-.-

 

There was no doubt in Kagami’s mind that Aomine was the biggest dumbass he had ever met. And as the tan boy led him (obviously lost, no matter how much he objected) through the slums of Tokyo, his opinion only solidified.

“Where the hell are we going now? I thought you said there was an open court down here,” Kagami berated for the billionth time that day.

“There is,” the navy-haired boy grumbled. “Now could you shut up? If I wanted to deal with whining all day, I would’ve invited Kise.”

Kagami scoffed but obliged. At least he did for a minute until he noticed Aomine turn down the same street they had walked down minutes earlier.

“You have no clue where we are, do you?”

“Shut up! It’s somewhere around here, okay?”

“All you’ve done is lead us in circles!”

“Well, why don’t you lead the way if you’re so smart, Bakagami?”

“Because, Ahomine, I don’t know where the hell we are!”

“Then just be quiet and let me figure it out!” Aomine spat, stopping to spin and grab Kagami by the collar. Kagami instinctively did the same and was about to retaliate when something over Aomine’s shoulder caught his eye. Without any explanation, he shoved the navy-haired boy out of the way and started jogging down the street.

“The hell—Kagami?” he heard Aomine call out but was ignored by the other boy. He zeroed in on a small group of kids standing tightly together around a much smaller boy.

“Hey, brats! What do you think you’re doing?” he barked, making the whole group jump while the small boy cowered even more. The tallest and seeming leader of the punks turned his head to look at Kagami and snarled.

“Keep on walking, Eyebrows. This doesn’t concern you,” he snapped, but it only made Kagami walk that much faster.

“You gotta lot of guts for five-year-old, you know that?” growled the red-head. Now that he was closer, he could clearly see that the smaller, orange haired boy was on his knees, and his eyes shined with held-back tears. The bullies had him cornered against a fence, with the leader holding some kind of ball. Kagami scowled deeply and came to a stop right in front of the bullies.

“I’m twelve,” the leader retorted, crossing his arms as if to seem larger. “And I told you to buzz off already. Or do I need to show you why the rich kids know to stay away from the back allies?”

Kagami stared down at the punk who barely came to his chest, unimpressed. He poked the kid in the tip of his index finger and pushed at him slightly. The boy’s head easily teetered back and he almost lost his footing. Kagami snorted.

“Yeah, good luck with that, brat.”

The bully and his two accomplices looked shocked that Kagami would ever challenge them. The leader passed the ball off to Annoying Punk #1, while Annoying Punk #2 cracked his knuckles in what was probably supposed to be in a menacing way, but Kagami was more amused if anything. He straightened his back and crossed his arms, purposely flexing his biceps.

Before any of the bullies could try to pull a punch, however, Aomine finally made his way over. The addition of another tall, muscular teen clearly frazzled the bullies, with Punk #1 taking a noticeable step back. The orange haired boy had his back pressed up against the fence, looking up at the two teens with wide brown eyes filled with fear and awe.

“What the hell is going on, Kagami?” the navy-haired teen spat.

The red-head scoffed. “Ask the punks.”

Aomine zeroed in on the kids, his eyes narrowing and scowl deepening. He locked eyes with Thug #2 and stared him down intensely until the kid started to break. The bully shifted uncomfortably.

“We’re just playin’ with him,” he mumbled.

“Playing, huh?” Aomine repeated dryly. “I don’t think your buddy over there would agree.”

The leader bully, apparently fed up with talking, suddenly lashed out at the two teens, his fists flailing uncoordinatedly. Kagami was able to grab them easily, stopping the boy mid-momentum, before sending him crashing into Punk #2. As the punks tried to scramble back to their feet, Aomine moved in closer so he could tower over them menacingly while snarling and everything. Punk #1 whimpered pitifully before tossing the ball at Kagami and taking off. The red-head caught it easily, tucking it under his arm so he took could stare down the two remaining bullies. The two clearly got the message and made quick work of running after their friend. Kagami watched the kids disappear with disdain before turning to the remaining child. He squatted down so he was at eye level with the cowering ginger.

“I think this belongs to you,” he said, trying to sound sincere and gentle. He held the ball out awkwardly. The kid didn’t move a muscle, staring at Kagami with wide, blank eyes. It was very uncomfortable.

“Hey, kiddo,” Aomine snapped, patient as ever. “You gonna thank us or just go into shock? Because I only have time for the first option.”

The ginger suddenly snapped into awareness, blinking frantically and sputtering to form a coherent sentence.

“T-Thank you so much! I’m sorry, it’s just that… well, you’re so tall, and it scared me, but you also helped me, so I’m not saying you’re scary, it’s just that… um, thanks for saving me!” he practically word-vomited. “You didn’t really have to do that but you did, so that’s nice, which means even though you’re really tall I guess you’re not that scary is what I’m trying to say. Thanks again! I’m Shouyou, by the way!”

It was Kagami and Aomine’s turn to stare blankly this time. This kid spoke so quickly that even smart people would struggle to keep up, much less the two infamous basketball idiots.

When he got no response, the ginger laughed awkwardly as he hesitantly took the ball back. “Anyways, it’s been fun meeting you, I guess! I need to get back home, though, so…” He started to inch away, but then Aomine suddenly snatched the ball back.

“Hey!”

“Why were they pestering you earlier?” the navy-haired boy asked. Kagami sighed loudly and tried to grab the ball.

“Aomine, leave the kid alone. Let’s just go,” he tried to reason, but the stubborn tan boy just held the ball up higher and out of reach.

“I’m just curious why we had to save the shrimp in the first place, that’s all.”

“I’m not a shrimp! And they’re just being jerks like usual. It was nothing new, really.”

“So they usually harass you like that?” Kagami asked, suddenly intrigued and strangely concerned.

The ginger shrugged. “I guess so. They’re all really good at volleyball and make fun of me whenever I try to play. They say I’m too short to play.”

Aomine snorted. “They’re not wrong, you know.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that while I may be short, I can still jump! Watch!”

And just like that, the kid sprouted wings and flew.

Well, not literally obviously, but it certainly seemed like it for a second. The kid sprung upwards so high that he was their height and snatched the ball right back out of Aomine’s hands. Kagami could do nothing but stare blankly again. Aomine looked like he was about to have heart failure.

“See? Told ya!” the ginger said, grinning widely, as if he didn’t just perform the seemingly impossible. Kagami felt his brain short circuit for a second.

“W-What the- how did you- the hell…?” he muttered.

Aomine arched an eyebrow. “What’d you say your name was again?”

“Shouyou!” the kid answered cheerfully.

“Well, kiddo, I’m Aomine, and freaky eyebrows here is Kagami,” the navy-haired boy replied, smirking mysteriously. “And with skills like that, I bet you could dunk pretty well. You also seem pretty damn fast. How about you put your skills to good use and learn how to play the superior sport?”

The ginger kid cocked his head to the side, clearly confused. Sighing, Aomine spun his basketball on his finger, and Shouyou’s face lit up in realization.

“Oh, you mean basketball!” the kid stated. Kagami just blinked; this kid was slower than Aomine.

Shouyou eagerly put his volleyball to the side and reached out for the orange ball. “I’ve always wanted to learn, but the basketball team at school said I was too short to join. They didn’t even let me try out. Akashi-san said it was dumb that they turned me down for that reason and said he’d teach me next time he visited Tokyo, but now he doesn’t have to!”

The two giant teenagers froze instantly, glancing at each other to see if they heard the kid right. _Akashi-san…?_

“You guys are really tall, though,” the kid continued, oblivious to the rising concern. “Are you two teammates? You’re tall, so you could easily be the best—is one of you the ace?”

“I’m the ace,” Kagami and Aomine said at the same time, stopping to glare at one another.

“We play on different teams,” Kagami explained, mid-stare down with the blue-haired teen. “So we’re both technically the aces of our teams.”

“I’m clearly the better player, though,” Aomine argued, smirking.

Kagami growled. “Like hell you are.”

“Put your money where your basketball is, then.”

“Only if you do it first.”

“Um…” Shouyou piped up, glancing uncomfortably between the two teenagers. “Are we going to play, or…?”

“Right,” Kagami said, breaking out of the staring contest and tossing the kid a basketball. The ginger caught it with surprisingly good reflexes. “Now, how high exactly can you jump, kid?”

 

-.-

 

Rin was not a problem child.

Was he deeply troubled? Probably. Did he get in trouble a lot? Undeniably. Was it always his fault? Questionably. Did he try to be better? Absolutely. Would he ever succeed?

Doubtfully.

So, yes, he had a few deep-rooted issues. It was completely understandable given his circumstances—that is, it would be if people were permitted to understand them. But, he kept his problems a secret, as he often saw his oldest brother do.

He wanted to be a good kid, and he tried to be. He cared and cooked for his family, he worshiped Kouki and always tried to help him, he defended Yukio from bullies. The last one may be the reason so many people saw him as a problem child, but in the end, he knew he was just doing what was right. He was sticking up for his family. It was his job to, especially in times like these, where Kouki wasn’t around often. It didn’t matter how many detentions it resulted in.

When it came down to it, there seemed to be only two authority figures in Rin’s life who didn’t see him as a delinquent: his oldest brother, and Hamasaki-sensei.

Hamasaki-sensei was his home economics teacher. She was an older lady who believed the current public-school system was ruining the future because they took priority away from her classes. She was known around school as the grumpy teacher that would snap at you for the littlest mistake.

And oddly enough, she absolutely adored Rin.

It was mainly because, while he was the absolute worse in the rest of his classes, he excelled in home economics. Cooking was where he felt at home, and he often had long conversations with her in class about the best spice combinations and the perfect meat cooking techniques.

So, it was very convenient that, as the teacher ‘lowest on the totem pole’ so to speak, she was often assigned detention duty.

While Hamasaki-sensei spent the majority of detention threatening to throw the other kids out the window, she could care less what Rin did, and gave him free reign to work in the kitchen as much as he wanted. He couldn’t make much, sadly, since he had to save the majority of ingredients for her class, but he could easily make a few small pastries or a snack to share with his siblings later that night.

He was waiting after school to get picked up from detention by Shouyou. Typically, Kouki was the one who picked him up, but he came home last night with a crazy new work schedule that gave him absolutely no time outside of work or school. Though his eldest brother didn’t say it outright, it was undoubtedly because they hung out with Akashi too long the day before. Rin felt bad about it but in the end, he couldn’t deny how much fun he had.

He was sitting patiently on the school steps when he saw him: a real-life titan.

The tallest person Rin had ever seen in his life, with long purple hair standing in front of a vending machine across the street. Rin couldn’t help but stare; from his height to his hair, everything about the teenager was exotic. Rin would have been incredibly intimidated—that is, if the giant wasn’t sulking so much.

It appeared that the machine had gotten stuck trying to distribute the purple-haired boy’s snack, and he clearly wasn’t thrilled in the slightest about it. He was slouching in on himself and kicking the machine repeatedly, trying to force his snack free but was having no luck. Rin watched as the giant boy pressed his cheek against the glass and just stared at the lost food longingly.

It was pitiful.

And Rin would not stand for it.

Checking to make sure there weren’t any cars, he ran across the street right up to the purple-haired giant. The teenager didn’t notice him- his face was still squished on the vending machine so Rin hesitantly reached out to tap his back.

“Excuse me, Mr. Giant, sir?” he said timidly. The tall teen looked over his shoulder lazily but didn’t seem to spot the child, who barely reached his hip. Rin tapped again.

“I’m down here.”

The purple-haired boy turned around and looked down. The amount he had to crane his neck down was almost hysterical. Rin’s neck ached just trying to make eye contact.

The giant frowned. “What do you need?” he asked pointedly, though he didn’t sound annoyed. Just bored, like even speaking was too bothersome.

“Um,” Rin said awkwardly. “I noticed that you, um, you couldn’t get your snack. I, um…”

Starting to get intimidated by the purple-haired giant’s insistent staring, he fumbled for his backpack and pulled out a bag of red bean cakes he had made earlier during detention.

“Here. These are homemade—much better tasting, if you ask me,” he said, holding one out to the giant. Blinking, he teenager hesitantly grabbed it and nibbled on the edge.

Not even a second later, the cake was devoured, and the giant was already reaching for a second one. Rin was too shocked to stop him; how does one eat that fast?

A minute later, all of the cakes were gone and the giant teen was happily licking his fingers. He stared Rin down for a second, almost expectantly; like he was waiting for the raven-haired boy to pull out another bag of snacks. When Rin just awkwardly put the empty bag in his backpack, the purple-haired boy’s hand suddenly shot out, coming straight for Rin’s face.

For a second, the child panicked, thinking the giant was going to eat him next.

_Niichan, I’m sorry, I didn’t listen to you about stranger danger. I should have known giants eat people. Niichan, Shouyou, Yukio, Natsu, I love you._

The hand landed on his head, but instead of being picked up and snacked upon, the giant patted Rin’s head gingerly, as if the child were some kind of fragile pet.

“Tiny has good snacks. Like Murochin,” the giant said.

“Um, thank you, Mr. Giant,” the black-haired boy said, not sure what a ‘Murochin’ is. “And my name isn’t Tiny! It’s Rin!”

“Hmm. Your name is very short, like you” the purple-haired boy sighed.

Rin bristled. “I’m not that short! You’re just super duper tall! And what’s your name then, Mr. Giant?”

“Murasakibara.”

Rin sighed. Fitting.

The giant—Murasakibara, apparently—patted Rin on the head again. “Rinchin is very temperamental. Like a cat.”

“Rinchin? What kind of nickname is that?”

“Arara? Do you not like it?”

The giant pouted like he had earlier with the snack, looking like a kicked puppy. Rin quickly backtracked. It was kind of terrifying, despite how sad it looked. It probably had to do with the fact that Murasakibara was still seven feet tall, even if he acted like he was Rin’s age.

“It just sounds weird. Rin-chin? They sound the same,” he corrected himself. “How about…Richin?”

Murasakibara hummed. “Yes, I like that. Do you have any more snacks, Richin?”

“No? That’s just what I made after school today. But, um, I can get you more tomorrow, don’t worry!”

“I go back home tomorrow,” Murasakibara said, sulking. “I was just here to play basketball against Akachin.”

Rin perked up. _Basketball? Akachin?_

“Hey, do you know Akashi-san? Has weird colored hair like you?”

“Eh? How do you know that name?”

“Oh, Akashi-san is my—”

“Rin-chan!” Shouyou shouted out, waving at him from across the street. “C’mon, let’s go! No talking to strangers, remember what Oniichan told us?”

“I know, coming!” he called back. He smiled sheepishly at the giant. “I’ve gotta go, it was nice meeting you, Murasakibara-san! Oh, and let me get that for you.”

He wiggled his skinny arm up the vending machine and easily snatched the jammed snack out. He tossed it to the surprised but visibly satisfied purple-haired teen before running to meet his brother.

 

-.-

 

One day, Yukio was going to destroy Akashi. He refused to accept otherwise.

But until then, he had to practice.

So, with Kouki often gone at work these days, and the rest of his siblings focused on themselves, he spent every possible moment playing shogi. He carried his mini portable set he found at a thrift store in his satchel at all times, right next to his medicine. If anyone was willing, he would play against them; if not, he would sit there and stare at the board, imagining possible opponent moves and how to overcome them.

On some afternoons, when Shouyou was busy trying not to burn the house down, and Natsu was too absorbed in playing with Akachannie, and Rin was having to stay after in detention (yet again), Yukio would head off on his own to the park and would play against random people there. He knew Kouki would probably have a heart attack if he found out his nine-year-old brother was wandering to a park on his own, but in reality, it was more dangerous for Yukio to step outside his apartment alone than it was to go to a park.

It was at this park, playing shogi with strangers, that he met the green giant.

(And no, Rin, it’s not the jolly one on the green bean cans).

The only people at the shogi boards were two older men who regularly came to play each other, a college student who was using the table as a place to take a nap, and a teenager with astonishingly green hair. Yukio couldn’t help but stare at the anomaly. He had never seen someone with that color of hair before. The only other person he knew with shocking colored features was Akashi.

So, naturally, Yukio was drawn to the boy.

He practically marched up the green-haired boy, stopping just inches away from him. It clearly startled the teen, who just turned and _stared._

They stared for a long time. No words were said. Neither of them ever blinked. The green-haired boy pushed up his glasses. Yukio did the same. The green-haired boy scowled. Yukio scowled back.

Finally, the large teenager gave in, sighing deeply. “Can I help you?” he asked, his voice stern and cold. Yukio finally blinked.

“Could I please play against you?” he asked. The green-haired boy looked utterly bewildered by the request.

“You,” he said, very slowly, as if just processing the words as he spoke. “Want to play. Against me?”

Yukio nodded, frowning. Was this a big deal or something? He couldn’t possibly see why.

“You seem like a f-formimiable opponent,” the young boy answered truthfully, flubbing over the pronunciation. “I need to practice more.”

The green-haired boy blinked slowly before giving in, flicking his hand to gesture for Yukio to sit down. The brown-haired child clambered up in the seat and held out his hand.

“My name is Yukio, sir. Please to meet you,” he said politely, like Kouki had taught him to do. The green-haired boy stared for an uncomfortably long amount of time (which was weird. His older brother always said it was rude to stare). Then, finally, he moved to shake the tiny awaiting hand, reaching out with his — was that a cat mitten? —  right hand.

“Midorima,” the teenager answered. Yukio blinked at the cat-shaped mitten, oddly only located on his right hand, for a second before focusing on setting up his pieces, slightly perturbed. Was that a popular thing among teenagers? Maybe he should try and get some for Kouki…

They played their shogi game in silence. Right off the bat, it became clear that Midorima was a far superior player. Each move was well evaluated, and every move resulted with him furthering his upper hand in the game. But despite it all, the brown-haired child was far from deterred. While Midorima may be three steps ahead of him, Akashi had always been five. If he could play against the Rakuzan captain, he could play against anyone.

Just when it seemed the green-haired boy’s win was inevitable—and the boy clearly thought it was, too, if his bored and relaxed posture said anything—Yukio saw it.

In his previous game against Akashi, the progress had gone very similar to this one, with Akashi dominating every single move until he finally captured Yukio’s king. He later explained, when they were talking shogi theory on the phone one night, that there was a possible way to come back and win. He explained that when it seems like your opponent is destined to win, if he can get two pieces into place without disturbance, then it was possible to turn the table in just three turns.

“I’ve won with it many times before,” Akashi had explained. “A friend of mine says it’s hard to detect, which is what makes it so successful, but it only works when all your pieces are perfectly in place.”

Yukio hadn’t understood at the time how that was possible. From the way Akashi explained it, it still sounded like you would lose either way. But now the opportunity was placed in front of him, and he realized- yes, he could end up winning this.

He moved his first piece in place, praying Midorima wouldn’t catch on. The teen didn’t, apparently focused on his straightforward victory. The green-haired boy captured another one of his pieces, but Yukio didn’t dwell on it. He moved his second piece into position. The teenager captured the last piece defending his king. To any onlooker, it would appear he won.

Yukio made his final move.

It took the green-haired boy a good while to realize he lost, gaping at the board. Yukio tentatively claimed Midorima’s king piece, smiling brighter than ever. He couldn’t wait to tell Akashi all about this—his strategy actually worked.

Midorima looked gobsmacked. “Where did you learn how to do that?” he asked, strange accusatory. “I’ve only known one person to ever use that strategy. How do you know it?”

Yukio shrugged innocently, cleaning up the pieces of the game. “Someone taught it to me. I thought it was crazy, but it actually worked. I guess I should have learned by now that Akashi-san’s plans are always absolute when it comes to victory…”

The green-haired boy downright  _froze._ Yukio’s pretty sure he stopped even breathing.

“Um, Midorima-san…are you okay?”

The teenager made a strange noise in the back of his throat before rubbing his face with his mitten-clad hand. “Did you just say ‘Akashi?’”

Yukio blinked. Was that a bad thing? “Yes? He’s the reason I need to practice, so that way I can finally beat him.”

Midorima arched his eyebrows and used his free hand to push up his glasses. He was silent for a long while before asking, “What’s your zodiac sign?”

His what?

“Zodiac?” Yukio echoed, the word foreign to his tongue. Kouki never mentioned people needing to have a fancy ‘zodiac’ sign.

The green-haired boy sighed. “What’s your birthday?”

“December 27th?”

“Capricorn,” Midorima hummed, nodding to himself. “You were ranked highest on Oha Asa’s list today; it explains a lot. I recommend tuning into her broadcasts in the future and investing in the lucky items — you’ll need it.”

 

-.-

 

When a little girl came up running towards Kuroko, he assumed she just saw Nigou. It would be far from the first time people stopped on the street to pet his dog without even realizing he was there. It didn’t bother him anyway.

So when the little girl ran right past the puppy and gave him a big hug, he was shocked, to say the least.

He tensed up immediately, not used to this kind of attention. Or any attention at all. Even his teammates still struggled to notice him. Strangers on the street _never_ see him. And even if they did, why would they hug him?

“Blue-chan! I missed you so much!” the child squealed, hugging him tighter.

Now Kuroko was really confused. Because ‘missed’ implied they had met before. Yet Kuroko couldn’t ever recall seeing this girl before today.

It was unsettling. Wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Was this how he made everyone else feel?

He made a mental note to personally apologize to all of his teammates at practice later.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I don’t…”

The little girl giggled, looking up at him with the most adorable brown eyes _ever._ “We met at that school place, silly. I bumped into you and you gave me candy and fixed my pigtails and said I was cute!”

Though Kuroko had no recollection of doing so ( _why couldn’t he remember?_ ), it sounded like a believable story. He did adore kids, and this girl was precious in every way; with messy vibrant orange hair, large brown eyes, and a gummy smile with one of her front teeth missing. It was possible he met her at a basketball game or a school event and had just forgotten the exchange ever happened.

It still didn’t make him feel any better.

“Oh, puppy!”

The girl released Kuroko and started petting the puppy cautiously with wide eyes. The blue-haired boy frowned. This meant she didn’t notice the dog first, and really had spotted him right away.

Maybe she was Takao-kun’s sibling? Though they didn’t look alike in any way…

Kuroko kneeled next to the girl and showed her where to pet Nigou. “I’m Kuroko. What’s your name?” he asked, trying to sound sweet, though he likely sounded as emotionless as usual. The girl smiled brightly, nonetheless.

“My name’s Natsu! What’s the puppy’s name?”

“Nigou. Where are your parents, Natsu-chan?”

“I don’t have — no! One of my Niichans is coming to get me.”

Kuroko frowned at her response, realizing this was a lot more complicated than he originally thought if the girl was avoiding talking about her parents. So, making sure Natsu was distracted with Nigou, he did the most logical thing he could think of.

He called Momoi.

“Ne, what is it you're saying the problem is?” the pink-haired girl asked over the phone.

“I’m here with a small child I met on the street. She seems to be avoiding talking about her parents, so I don’t know how to contact them. I was hoping Momoi-chan could find something to help?” Kuroko answered, angling away from the child to guarantee she couldn’t hear.

“I’m not sure there’s much I can do with that little of information. Where did you say you were, again?”

“I’m outside the elementary school near Seirin. I assume she was waiting to be picked up after school.”

“Hmm, okay. Wait there, Tetsu-kun, I’ll be there soon!”

The girl immediately hung up, leaving Kuroko no room to object. There really was no reason for the pink-haired girl to come all the way over, but he learned a long time ago not to question her actions.

“Nigou-chan is fluffy, like my Akachannie,” Natsu said as she rubbed the dog’s belly. “Do you think they’d be friends?”

Kuroko assumed ‘Akachannie’ was the girl’s pet of some sort. “I’m sure they would. Nigou is very nice to other animals.”

The girl giggled as Nigou licked her fingers. “Kuro-chan is nice, too!”

Kuroko blinked before smiling ever so slightly (though to everyone else, it probably didn’t look like his face changed). “Thank you, Natsu-chan.”

The girl beamed at him almost blindingly. Maybe it was her hair, colored like the evening sun, but she seemed to emit light. Her personality burned bright, and Kuroko felt right at home.

 

-.-

 

He was showing Natsu how to get Nigou to do tricks when Momoi came running towards him, waving her arms wildly.

“Tetsu-kun!”

Kuroko stood up the greet his old friend, bowing as she stopped in front of him. “Good to see you again, Momoi-chan.”

The girl instantly squashed him with a well-expected hug. “I missed you, Tetsu-kun! We both live in Tokyo, we should hang out more often! We only have a few weeks until the next basketball season starts and—oh, is that her?”

Momoi was looking down at Natsu, who was peering out from behind Kuroko’s legs. The pink-haired girl bent over so she was closer to the child’s height. “Oh my goodness, she’s so adorable! What’s her name?”

Natsu squeaked and cowered even further behind Kuroko, which was strange given how outgoing she had been earlier. Was she scared of other girls or something?

But then he noticed how Momoi’s chest was to Natsu’s face and realized, no, she wasn’t scared of _all_ girls.

“Momoi-chan, I think it might be best if you kneeled instead,” Kuroko said.

“What do you mean, Tetsu—” she stopped and flushed red suddenly. “Tetsu-kun!”

“What?”

Momoi huffed but kneeled nonetheless. It seemed to work like magic. Natsu popped out from behind his legs, smiling shyly.

“I’m Natsu. Who are you?”

“I’m Momoi, Natsu-chan! I’m a friend of Tetsu-kun.”

The little girl frowned, confused. “Kuro-chan?”

“Yup!” Momoi clarified, giggling lightly. “We met in middle school. I was the manager of the basketball club, and Tetsu-kun was one of our main players!”

“Momoi-chan,” Kuroko chided, warning her silently to not dramatize his character. The pink-haired girl visibly deflated.

“Basketball?” Natsu asked. “My brother plays basketball!”

“He does?” Momoi asked. The pink-haired girl was obviously taking advantage of the opportunity to gather information. “What’s his name? Maybe we know him.”

Natsu, contrasting her bubbly personality, back off immediately, turning her attention completely to Nigou. Momoi and Kuroko exchanged a worried glance.

“Can you tell us what school he plays for?” Nothing. “What position he plays?” Silence. “What he looks like?”

The orange-haired girl was strangely tight-lipped. Kuroko was growing more concerned by the second.

When it became clear Natsu wasn’t going to answer any of her questions, Momoi sighed, standing back up.

“I don’t know, Tetsu-kun. For a child, she’s startlingly good at avoiding the topics she doesn’t want to discuss. I’m afraid I’m not going to be much use—basketball players are open books, in comparison.”

“It’s alright, Momoi-chan. I just want to make sure she remains safe. It seems we’ll need to try another approach,” he said, kneeling down across from the little girl. “Natsu-chan, do you want to call your brother? Find out if he’s on his way?”

That finally got Natsu to respond, nodding eagerly. “Yes, I miss him so much!”

Kuroko blinked but handed over his phone nevertheless. The child fervently punched in the number, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

There was a short stretch of silence before the brother seemed to pick up.

“Kaachan? Is that you?” she asked, and if was possible, Kuroko would say she was shining even brighter. “Hi, Kaachan! I missed you!”

Kuroko exchanged an uneasy look with Momoi. Didn’t the girl say she was calling her brother, not her mother?

“Shou-nii is late! Pinky and Blue said that I should call you!”

There was another pause as the (brother? Mother?) responded. “Okie Kaachan! I love you!”

The girl hung up the phone and handed it back to Kuroko. “Kaachan told me to go wait at the school. Bye Kuro-chan, Mo-chan!”

Before the teenagers could react, the little girl had sprinted away. Momoi sighed excessively.

“This is so _confusing_! Who was she talking to? Didn’t you say she was avoiding talking about her parents? Why are kids so weird?” the pink-haired girl whined. “I’m one of the best data-gathers and analysts, yet I can’t figure out a six-year-old! So frustrating!”

Kuroko stared at the phone in his hand. “I’m afraid it has become much more complicated, Momoi-kun.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

The blue-haired boy held the phone out to her so she could read the screen, the recent call list pulled up. The one on the top seemed to glow.

**75-***-******

**Akashi Seijuurou Backup Cell**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise Kise will have his part in future chapters, he just has a slightly different role!
> 
> Well, now the GoM is starting to learn some...slightly misleading stuff. Whoops. *cackles evilly in the distance*
> 
> Also, am I the only one who thinks Yukio and Midorima are strangely similar? They're both sharpshooters in their own respect, they're both interested in the medical field, they're both super serious and intelligent people. Just food for thought...


	6. You Cried (And It Broke My Heart)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having to work constantly for two weeks straight, Furihata was sure his life couldn't get any worse.
> 
> It does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: stalking and intimidation, panic attacks, verbal abuse, and those tagged

Contrary to his convenience store job, Furihata quite enjoyed working at the restaurant. The customers were (usually) more pleasant and the tips were (usually) generous. His bosses were very understanding people for the most part and gave him a lot of freedom he probably didn’t deserve. They occasionally allowed him to eat for free whenever he had almost full-day shifts on the weekends, and they had no problem paying him under the table since he was still in high school.

His one downside for the job was that it made him interact with strangers. Though he liked to think he was getting better, he was still incredibly squirmy whenever it came to talking to customers. Fortunately, most people didn’t seem to mind or even found it endearing.

There was always that one customer; however, that seemed to take pleasure in making his anxiety so much worse.

He took one glanced at the table where a new customer was waiting to be served and knew he was one of  _ those  _ customers. He didn’t mean to stereotype, but the man literally looked like every clichéd yakuza member out there. He wore an expensive, pristine looking suit matched with luxurious accessories and a pair of sunglasses on his face even though he was inside.

To say Furihata was terrified was an acute understatement.

He approached the table cautiously and tried to put on his most civil smile to mask his distress.  “Hello, welcome to the Drop of Sunshine Café. Can I get you started with something to drink?”

He mentally applauded himself for keeping his voice so steady. The man looked up lazily, his eyes masked by those dark glasses, and smirked.

“A coffee, please. Black,” the man answered, and the brown-haired boy almost snorted. Of course he would ask for black coffee.

He quickly went over and picked up the full coffee pot they always had for refills and a mug. He placed the mug down on the man’s table and filled his cup to the top, almost humming to himself.

“Furihata, huh? How strange. I believe I knew a Furihata once.”

All of Furihata’s brave façade shattered.

The man seemed to be staring at his nametag, and the boy felt the urge to cover it up and run away. Instead, he tried to stay professional and smiled forcibly.

“I-I’m sorry, sir? I don’t believe we’ve ever met before.” Because Furihata definitely would have remembered a man like this, so he knew when to  _ stay away. _

The man laughed. It was cruel and hollow. “No, no, it wouldn’t have been you. It was a woman I met years ago. Barely a distant memory now.”

He took a sip of his coffee. “She was a beautiful woman- easily the most gorgeous one at the bar, though she had been oh-so-clearly unstable. That’s okay. I always seem to like the crazy ones best,” he chuckled cruelly.

He tilted his head down slightly so he could peer and the fear-stricken teenager. Piercing blue eyes, so hauntingly familiar, seemed to consume Furihata’s soul. The brown-haired boy felt like he was suffocating.

“You look quite similar to her, actually. Same brown hair and narrow face. Any possible relation?”

No. This couldn’t be happening.  _ This wasn’t happening. _

“I, um, I…c-customers…” he flubbed, practically tripping over his feet as he backed away. The strange man’s blue eyes following him, his smirk haunting him.

He crashed into the break room, slamming the door behind him. He felt like his organs were pushing up into his esophagus and swallowed down the urge to barf. His breathing was harsh and sporadic and seemed to consume all the oxygen in the room, causing the walls to draw in on him. He slid against the door onto the floor, drew his knees close to his chest, pressed his face against them, and just tried to  _ breathe. _

_ In. _

Cryptic man.

_ Out. _

Crazed woman.

_ In. _

Brown hair.

_ Out. _

Blue eyes.

_ In. _

Years ago.

_ Out. _

Rin and Yukio.

-.-

His boss found him like that maybe twenty minutes later and thankfully let him go home early. Furihata ran out the back door like his life depended on it, fully intending on evading that man for the rest of his life.

So, of course, he started seeing him everywhere.

It’s not that Furihata has finally snapped (at least, he hoped not). It’s that the man was literally  _ everywhere.  _ Outside of school. At the convenience store. Near his apartment. At the restaurant. In a car seemingly following him around.

The man doesn’t do anything. He won’t buy anything at work, doesn’t ever approach Furihata even when he’s completely alone. He just stares, his blue eyes stalking and smirk pungent.

Even his boss at the convenience store was starting to notice. Which was, of course, a very bad thing.

“Who’s the man that keeps staring at you, Furihata? Did you upset your ‘friend’ and he set his goons on you? Or is  _ he  _ your friend? Well, either way, whenever you get off shift, tell him that if he’s going to spend hours sitting at the store to watch you, he should at least buy something.”

Furihata feels himself losing control bit by bit. He doesn’t feel safe in public, at school, at work, at practice, at home. He tries to keep his siblings oblivious while still hiding their face as much as possible in public. Natsu thinks they’re playing dress up whenever he has them go out with mouth masks or sunglasses. The twins think they look like celebrities. Shouyou thinks it’s tedious and gets in the way.

Furihata thinks he’s going to die.

-.-

After about a week, he rode home from work on the bus and spent the entire time acutely aware of the man sitting a few seats back, staring holes into his back. Furihata pulled his hood over his head and whimpered, wishing it would all go away.

He got off a few blocks early and chose to walk the rest of the way. By the time he got to his apartment, the man was waiting for him outside the building.

Furihata ran inside, tuning out his siblings’ squabbling as he moved mechanically into the bathroom, and locked the door behind him. He was greeted by a ghost of himself in the mirror; his eye-bags had bags, his hair was embarrassingly disheveled, and his skin looked sickly. He was falling apart at the seams.

He pulled out the phone and stared at Akashi’s number, thinking how  _ easy  _ it would be to call him; the red-haired boy always knew what to do, how to control any situation. If he were in Furihata’s place, the threat would be crushed before it could form. He would be bold enough to confront these problems head-on and demand control.

But alas, it wasn’t Akashi—it just him, Furihata Kouki, the cowardly, talentless, hot mess, Seirin first year. So, he pocketed the phone and opened the door with the bravest smile he could muster, greeting his siblings warmly and pushing his troubles away.

Just like always.

 

-.-

 

Nearly a month later, the appearances of the man tapered off, and Furihata began to feel at ease again.

The end of February came quickly, and they were less than a month and a half away from a new school year. Coach Aida decided to schedule one last practice match, wanting to get a feel for what their competition would be like for the upcoming season. It was against a low-rank team, but Furihata was already worried, as usual. Though he knows he won’t play (he’s still a pro-benchwarmer, especially after having to take two weeks off from practice for work), it doesn’t quell his anxiety.

They walked out onto the court for warm up. Furihata took one glance at the crowd and spotted blue eyes peering at him over dark sunglasses.

A few shoves past his teammates and a cry of concern from Coach later, and he was cowering and hyperventilating in the locker room with the door locked.

 

-.-

 

His teammates pounded on the door quite persistently, asking him what was wrong and to open the door. Fukuda, Kawahara, and Tsuchida were the most persistent- begging him to let them in. Even Kagami and Kuroko tried for a while. Eventually, though, the knocks tapered off as it approached time to play. Tsuchida stayed the longest, reminding Furihata that they were a team, and whatever was the matter, they would get through it together.

The whole team knew he had been extra stressed after the Winter Cup. That much was easily inferred by not only his two-week leave of absence, but his heightened squeamish behavior. They probably assumed his anxiety had gotten the best of him.

If only they knew the whole story.

 

-.-

 

He was laying on his back, tears still falling persistently, when there was another knock on the door. He assumed it was halftime and curled in on himself, awaiting the onslaught of panicked banging.

It didn’t come. Instead, there was a light ping of his phone going off.

Furihata frowned. He didn’t give out his number even after Akashi gave him the phone, feeling awkward taking complete advantage of the gift. The only numbers he had on his contact list were his bosses’, the club advisor, and—

Akashi.

**Let me in, Furihata.**

And against his better judgment, he does.

 

-.-

 

Maybe he had just been shocked by the fact that Akashi was here—in Tokyo, at the Seirin game. Or maybe he was too tired to think it through.

(Or maybe he was tired of crying on his own. Tired of being the only one to know his problems.)

 

-.-

 

They sat on the bench in silence. Well, Akashi sat in silence. Furihata sniveled.

After what seemed like eons, Furihata’s breathing evened, and the tears stopped streaming. Akashi wordlessly passed him a tissue he obtained from who-knows-where.

“W-Why are you here, Akashi-kun?” he finally asked, his breath still stuttering.

Akashi pursed his lips. “I came to observe the competition for inter-high next year. I do not intend on losing a tournament a second time.”

It seemed believable enough- if Furihata didn’t know Akashi at all, that is. But since he knows Akashi relatively well (they could maybe be considered friends at this point. Just maybe), he knows not to question the ‘Absolute’ Rakuzan captain.

“Why are you panicking, Furihata-kun?” Akashi asked in return.

Furihata didn’t want to answer (or maybe he did), but under Akashi’s expectant gaze, he responded anyway.

“It’s…it’s stupid,” he said. Akashi arched an eyebrow, clearly waiting for more. “I’m just overreacting. Yeesh, I’m so embarrassed.”

He covered his face with his hands, wishing he could disappear.

“I find it hard to believe you would panic over frivolous reasons, Furihata-kun,” Akashi said. “Is your apprehension about playing returning? I would think after playing against me, no one on the court could intimidate you again.”

Furihata laughed airily, whipping at his face roughly and pushing back his hands to rest in his hair. Akashi frowned perplexedly.

“I mean it sincerely. After facing against a formidable team such as my own, such low-rank competition should be nothing. This isn’t about the game.”

It wasn’t a question, but Furihata nodded nonetheless.

“…it’s your siblings, correct?”

Furihata’s jolt was enough of an answer for the Rakuzan captain. He regal expression morphed, his teeth clenching and his red eyes widening. Furihata was probably imagining it, but for a second it seemed his left eye flickered gold. The brown-haired boy gulped.

Was Akashi…panicked?

No, panicked was too extreme; rattled sounded more like it. It was disconcerting either way.

“What happened? Are they hurt? Where are they?”

Furihata waved his hands. “No, no, it’s not like that. Trust me, I’d be much worse it was.”

He tried to laugh it off, but his response didn’t seem to release any of the red-haired teen’s tension. Furihata gulped awkwardly.

“Um, like I said, it’s really nothing. I’m just being dumb and dramatic, I didn’t mean to worry you. I’ll be fine, I promise, I—”

“Furihata. If you don’t tell me what the problem is, I will follow you everywhere until I figure it out myself.”

Akashi’s eyes were hard, and Furihata had no doubt he was telling the truth.

“I…” Furihata sighed loudly. “There’s this man. He’s been following me for about a month, and I don’t know what he wants.”

He explained how he met the guy at first at the restaurant and has been seeing him everywhere ever since. How he just stands there but won’t approach, and that’s what makes it so terrifying- like a predator stalking his prey. He’s just watching and waiting, and Furihata doesn’t know when he’ll pounce.

“He stopped showing up as much, and I thought maybe he was gone. I started to let my guard down—so  _ stupid  _ of me—but then…he was in the crowd. Just, watching me, with those- those  _ eyes, _ ” he ran a shaky hand through his hair.

Every instinct told him to stop talking; Akashi already knew too much, don’t just blatantly tell him more. But at the same time, there’s no denying that when it comes to his siblings, Akashi  _ cares.  _ Furihata doesn’t know why exactly, and may never know why, but there’s no doubt about how much Akashi worries for his siblings.

And after everything he’s done, and with the about of debt Furihata owes him, maybe Akashi deserves to finally be paid back with answers.

“Akashi-kun…I think he’s Rin and Yukio’s biological father.”

Akashi reared back, visibly confused. “What do you mean?”

“Rin and Yukio…they’re my half-brothers. When I was seven, my mom had an affair. It’s what tore our family apart. She never said who the father was- I always assumed she never knew herself. But then this man shows up and starts to describing her and  _ his eyes _ , Akashi-kun. They’re the same as Rin and Yukio.”

Tears started streaming down his face again and his breathing hitched. “Why is he here, Akashi-kun? How did he find out? No one knew about him; the birth certificates have no father listed. Why now?  _ What does he want? _ ”

Furihata didn’t really need to ask. He had an idea what the man wanted. And it  _ terrified  _ him.

It seemed Akashi did as well. The Rakuzan captain drew in a sharp breath and cursed under his breath.

“I-I can’t let it happen, Akashi-kun. He can’t take them away, they’re all I have, they’re all I live for, I  _ can’t _ —”

His voice cracked as his heart broke. His body was shaking violently. He reached up- to wipe his tears, to pull at his hair, he didn’t know. He just needed to touch something to ground himself.

Something wrapped around his wrist, pulling his arm back down. Furihata jerked but didn’t quite pull away. He stared at Akashi’s hand, wrapped around his thin wrist, not entirely believing it was real.

But then he met those red eyes and realized,  _ yes, this is real.  _ All sense of logic swept away, he reached out with his other hand to grab Akashi’s sleeve, leaning his forehead on his shoulder, and  _ cried.  _ Cried until his eyes ached and his throat was sore. Cried until there were simply no more tears to lose.

Cried, like his tears could sweep away his problems on their own.

 

-.-

 

“Contact someone on your team and tell them you left. Family emergency,” Akashi said, helping Furihata stand up once the boy finally calmed down. He began picking up his and the brown-haired teen’s things.

“What? Why?” Furihata asked, but still helped gather everything.

Akashi sighed, swinging his bag over his shoulder. “I think it’s clear you need to get out of here, and I would prefer to leave before your teammates come crowding in. Agreed?”

Furihata nodded mutely, sending a quick text to his club advisor, and followed the Rakuzan out of the locker room. Akashi led him out of the building and to his waiting car. The brown haired boy climbed in compliantly and Akashi slid in next to him.

As Akashi rattled instructions to the chauffeur, Furihata started to think (a bad thing to do when you’re emotionally unstable). And it dawned on him how incredibly  _ embarrassing  _ this all was.

He had a panic attack before a game and had to be rescued like a damsel in distress by Akashi—heir to the Akashi Group, leader of the Generation of Miracles, not-as-scary-but-still-the-Scariest-Man-Alive—Seijuurou.

_ Kill me, please. _

“Ah, Akashi-kun, I-I’m so sorry, I’m just inconveniencing you again. I should learn to control my own problems, I made you miss the match and everything,” he apologized.

“Pay no mind to it, Furihata-kun. The team was low-ranked. Seirin’s win was inevitable. I highly doubt there was anything worth seeing,” the Rakuzan captain replied smoothly, his full attention absorbed by whoever he was texting on his phone.

_ Then why did you come?  _ Furihata wanted to ask but felt it better left unsaid. He told himself it wasn’t because he was scared of the response.

-.-

It took Furihata an embarrassingly long time—almost right before they parked—before he realized they weren’t headed back to his apartment. There were far too many beautiful trees for his dismal neighborhood.

“Um, Akashi-kun…where are we?”

The red-haired boy finally looked up from his phone and glanced outside.

“I felt it best to take you somewhere first where you could clear your mind. I’ve found that the cherry blossoms' beauty can be quite tranquil and freeing, as of recent.”

Furihata wondered, eyeing the Rakuzan captain, what might be on Akashi’s mind that caused him to figure this out.

The chauffeur pulled up to the curb and opened the door for them to get out. Instantly, the sweet smell of the cherry blossoms hit his nose, and Furihata smiled widely. They were nearing full bloom for the blossom, and the trees were covered with gorgeous pink flowers. He reached out to cradle the nearest branch.

It was beautiful.

He could already feel his stress depleting like air from a balloon, and turned to Akashi to thank him when—

“Kaachan!”

 

-.-

 

Furihata could do nothing but stand, froze to his spot, as he watched his siblings approach him, being guided by two large, professional looking men. Natsu had even hitched a ride on one of their shoulders.

His eyes slid over to the Rakuzan captain. “What is going on here?” he hissed accusingly. “You know- you  _ know  _ it’s not safe for them to leave the apartment at night.”

Normally, it would freak him out too much to admit it- the fact that Akashi knows what poverty they live in. But now, he honestly just felt betrayed.

Akashi blinked, clearly not as fazed by Furihata’s mother-bear tone anymore. “I sent my highly trained security team—both of whom are ex-special forces—to retrieve them. I felt it best that you see them right now, Furihata-kun. There’s no doubt you were missing their comfort.”

Oh.  _ Oh. _

Blushing harshly (from embarrassment or reasons unexplored, Furihata didn’t know), the brown-haired boy bowed his head slightly. “Ah. R-Right.”

Akashi looked like he wanted to say something, but was interrupted when Shouyou came rushing forwards at impressive speeds. “Oniichan! Did you win the game? You scored again, right?”

Furihata felt his throat close off and glanced at Akashi helplessly. Fortunately, the red-haired boy seemed to pick up his distress, and lightly patted the top of Shouyou’s head.

“Your brother performed admirably, as usual. You should be very proud,” he said. Shouyou gave him a weird look.

“Of course I’m proud of him. Oniichan is the best at everything!”

Furihata flushed. “Shou-chan, you shouldn’t exaggerate like that…”

“Like what?”

The twins arrived next, elbows pushing at the other as they raced to get there first. It ended in a close draw, with Rin grabbing Furihata’s legs the same time Yukio grabbed Akashi’s.

“I won!” they shouted at the same time and proceeded to bicker about it. Furihata sighed. They had been increasingly competing over every little thing as of late, like they were trying to prove themselves superior for some reason.

“Kaachan!” Natsu cried when the security guard giving her a ride arrived. She jumped off him into Furihata’s awaiting arms, waving goodbye to the large man. “Thank you, Mister Muscle Man!”

Though the man was undoubtedly trained to remain stoic and emotionless under all circumstance, Furihata swore he saw the man’s mouth twitch upward slightly. Yet another victim of Natsu’s adorable woes.

Akashi paused to thank the guards and discuss something with them. Furihata, trying to be polite and not eavesdrop, kneeled down so that he was closer to his sibling’s eye level. While Natsu was already clinging to his chest like a koala, he opened his arms wide. His brothers instantly understood the gesture and squeezed in to hug him without question.

His arms weren’t that wide, so he couldn’t quite wrap his arms around them all, but he tried his best. He sunk into their returned embrace and just  _ let go. _ He pushed away his thoughts of the blue-eyed man, suppressed his worries about him, and just focused on what was right in front of him: his family.

And nothing-  _ nothing _ was more important than that.

He exhaled, holding them just a little bit tighter, as if his arms alone could protect his siblings from any problems. Then he pulled back and gave each one of them a kiss on the forehead. His eyes burned, threatening to spill over.

“Are you alright, Oniisan?” Yukio asked, his eyes- Furihata tried not to see them as haunting- shining with concern.

“Yes, I’m sorry, I’ve just…I’ve been so busy these days. It feels like I’m hardly around anymore. I’m… _ very  _ happy you’re here.”

His siblings grinned simultaneously. “We missed you the mostest, Niichan!” Rin declared. Furihata laughed and pulled them in for another quick hug before standing up again. He brushed the dirt off his knees.

“Make sure you tell those kind men thank you for bringing you here,” he reminded his siblings. They immediately swarmed the poor security guards to do what they were told, and Furihata turned to the visibly awaiting Akashi.

“I discussed the issue with Shiro, my head of security over there. He said that there were not any suspicious persons when they were withdrawing your siblings, so it’s either the suspect is alone in his actions, or he is only watching you,” the Rakuzan captain said in a low voice. “Shiro would like to meet with you at a later date to get a description of the man. While my father would not approve of me assigning one of our personal security members to your family, that won’t stop me from doing everything I can.”

Furihata wasn’t sure even he’d approve having a security guard follow him around everywhere, even if the mystery man was a creep.

“Does he think we’re in any serious danger?” he asked anxiously.

“Physically, he doesn’t believe so, or else the man likely would have struck by now. Shiro says, based on the fact that the man just seems to be observing, that your initial fears may be possible, but he’s still not sure how much of a threat he can pose. Custody is an extremely difficult battle to win in court.”

_ For normal families, yeah.  _ Furihata thought anxiously.  _ Normally families with parents who are alive and care. Families that don’t live below the poverty line, or have suspicious histories. _

“Though Shiro says he’s fairly positive it’s nothing. He says, statistically speaking, that if it has been this long and the suspect hasn’t made contact again, much less is showing signs of disinterest, then it’s likely this will all blow over. Precautions will still be taken, of course, but I don’t want you to fret over this any more than you already have.”

“I don’t think it’s possible for me to ever stop worrying about my family, Akashi-kun,” Furihata answered truthfully, watching as his siblings teasingly hassled the security guards. Akashi paused to look at them too, and the brown-haired boy was still amazed to see how soft the Rakuzan captain’s eyes could get.

“Thank you, Akashi-kun. For, well, everything,” Furihata said sincerely. “I’m sorry you have to put with my mess; you really shouldn’t have to do so much for us. If it becomes too much, I understand—”

“Furihata-kun,” Akashi interrupted, looking almost playfully annoyed. “What is it going to take for you to finally understand that I do not mind?”

Furihata blushed and ducked his head, not quite sure how to respond to that. Thankfully, he didn’t have to, as his siblings came swooping back in.

“Niichan! Akashi-san! Mr. Shiro says there’s a pond over there. Can we go look at it, please?” Rin begged, puppy-dog eyes and all.

“Yes, of course Rin-kun. Shiro,” Akashi said, dismissing his security team. The two men nodded, and Furihata was pretty sure he saw the extremely muscled one wiggle his fingers to say goodbye, before the departed. He noted that they stopped a few hundred feet away, still keeping the family in sight, and he recalled what Akashi said about having a security team follow him at all times. He wondered how he never noticed them before.

Akashi led his siblings to the pond, with Furihata trailing cautiously in the back. He wondered when the imagery of the Rakuzan captain chatting amicably with his siblings, while Natsu clung to his back and the twins held each of his hands stopped becoming such a shock; it was almost normal at this point.

In fact, given how long and frequent the phone calls were becoming, his siblings probably talked to Akashi just as much, if not more than they did to Furihata these days. And with how emotionally unstable he was these days, it’s not like he could blame them.

“Oniichan?”

He jolted and looked down at his ginger-haired cousin, who had left the blob to stand next to Furihata. “Yeah, Shou-chan?”

Shouyou’s eyes shined and he held out his hand wordlessly. Furihata felt his heart quiver as he accepted it, squeezing tightly. His inner demons retreated, and he pulled his brother close.

“Thank you, Shou.”

 

-.-

 

“Furihata-kun,” Akashi said, pulling away from the children when he reached the pond. “I don’t mean to be too bold, but I do have an inquiry I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

_ Please don’t.  _ “Oh? What is it, Akashi-kun?”

Akashi took a seat on the bench and motioned for Furihata and Shouyou (who was still holding tightly to his brother’s hand) to do the same. The three youngest siblings splashed their hands in the pond, completely oblivious.

“It’s about your mother,” Akashi began, and Furihata already felt compelled to run away. “This is the first time you’ve made any mention of her. For Shiro and I to have a fuller understanding of the threat that this man may be posing, I ask if you would just tell us where she is? It’s possible she might have some involvement.”

“Man? Threat?” Shouyou asked, and Furihata regretted letting him stay. He squeezed his brother’s hand soothingly.

“It’s nothing Shou-chan, don’t worry about it,” he said before meeting Akashi’s eyes timidly. “And as for my mother, she passed away years ago, so I can assure you she is not involved in any sort of way.”

_ ‘Please leave it at that’  _ went unsaid, but the Rakuzan captain seemed to get the message. He averted his red eyes, muttering a quiet courtesy ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’

“Your mother? Oniichan, what’s going on?”

Furihata sighed and turned to his brother, smiling sadly. “I told you, it’s nothing, Shou-chan. How about you go play with your siblings?”

“But I wanna—”

“Shou.”

“I can do—”

“ _ Please,  _ Shouyou.”

The ginger-haired boy blinked. Furihata could hardly recall the last time he referred to him by his full name.

Shouyou stood up quickly, huffing. “I’m not a clueless little kid anymore,  _ Kouki.  _ I could help too, if you’d stop being so- so stubborn!”

Furihata swore he could hear something shatter.

(It was his heart.)

“Shou-chan, I—” Furihata tried, but the ginger had already stomped off. The teenager buried his face in his hands and screamed. Why was he so skilled at screwing everything up?

There was a long pause before he heard Akashi shuffle. “Furihata-kun.”

The brown-haired teen groaned. “Not  _ now,  _ Akashi-kun.”

The horror settled in seconds later because he basically _ just told Akashi Seijuurou to shut up.  _ He peered out from behind his hands, and while the red-haired boy hadn’t pulled out any scissors, he was clearly displeased. He stood up so he was adjacent to the brown-haired boy and crossed his arms.

“Your brother has a point, Furihata,” he said coolly, but his cold eyes showed his true emotion. “I may not understand everything, and I know I’m not directly involved, but that doesn’t mean I can’t aid you. If I’ve learned anything since I…regained myself, it’s that turning to others for help doesn’t mean you’re weak.”

The Rakuzan captain left to join his siblings at the pond while Furihata sunk into the bench, his dread and tears building up.

_ But that’s just it,  _ he wanted to scream.  _ I know I’m weak. I know I’m pathetic. That’s why I have no right to ask for help. _

 

-.-

 

Akashi was sitting on the grass in between Shouyou and Natsu while the twins were trying to figure out how to skip rocks when Furihata finally made his way over. He wordlessly picked up a suitable rock and flicked it, watching it skip almost ten times.

“Wow, Niichan! You’re really good at this!” Rin gasped. Yukio stared at his rock accusingly, like it was to blame for why it wouldn’t skip.

Furihata smiled. Rock skipping was one of the few things he was good at. Ryuu had taught him when he was little, back before…well, before.

“It’s all in the wrist,” he said, picking up another rock. “You pull your arm back like this, just to get the power, and when you release you let your wrist snap.”

He demonstrated such, this time the rock skipping thirteen times. The twins instantly scrambled to mimic him. Rin’s rock skipped about five times while Yukio’s sunk almost immediately.

Rin clapped excitedly. “Did you see that, Niichan? I’m going to go farther next time!”

Yukio frowned and picked up another stone, flicking it again. It sunk. He tried again, garnering the same result. The young boy’s frustration was quickly becoming evident.

“You’re swinging your arm too much,” Furihata pointed out, reaching down to show his youngest brother the proper technique. “It’s mainly all in the flick. Try it now.”

Yukio breathed deeply, clearly taking this as seriously as he does everything. He reared back his arm and let go over the rock, flicking his wrist sharply. The rock skipped three times, earning him a small round of applause.

“See, you got this!” Furihata encouraged, ruffling Yukio’s hair. The brown-haired child pushed up his glasses anxiously.

“Thanks, Oniisan…” he mumbled. Furihata smiled and pulled him for a hug.

“Your welcome, Yukio-chan. I understand it’s hard to ask for help.”

He locked eyes with Akashi, begging him to understand. The Rakuzan captain held his stare, and for a terrifying moment, Furihata thought he was going to reject his pitiful explanation. But then Akashi nodded subtly, and Furihata released the oxygen built up in his lungs.

 

-.-

 

They were wandering as a group through the park, admiring the blossoms. He purposely walked slower, putting a slight distance between him and his siblings, hoping Akashi would catch on. It wasn’t long before he did, and they fell into step together.

They were silent, Akashi clearly waiting for him to start, but Furihata was not entirely confident in what he had to say. He inhaled deeply, trying to control his spiked heartbeat.

“Akashi-kun,” he finally said, his voice low so only the red-haired teen could hear him. “I want you to understand- it’s not just you I’m being secretive towards. The rest of my teammates don’t even know my siblings exist, much less have met them. They don’t know where I live or anything about my home life.

“It’s not that they’re untrustworthy people, it’s just that—ah, how do I put this? When...when you live the life I have, the life I’m still living, you tend to live in fear of everything. I worry that every choice I make is going to result in greater catastrophe in our lives, which is why I try to shut people out from my life. The fewer people who know, the fewer people who can affect me and my family…”

“Do you really have such little faith in their ability to help?” Akashi asked, frowning. Furihata frantically shook his head.

“No, it’s not like that! I have no doubt they’d go crazy trying to help, it’s just that- well, that’s what I’m avoiding, I guess,” he paused, scuffing his shoe against the ground. “I understand why people would want to help. It doesn’t take a genius to see why. But I’ve done this long enough to know that sometimes getting help can make everything a whole lot worse.”

Akashi stopped alongside him, his red eyes calculating. Furihata felt like he was being read like a book whenever those eyes were on him, no matter how much he tried to conceal himself.

“Things haven’t ever gotten this bad before, however. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have told me, correct?” the red-haired teen observed. Furihata, despite himself, nodded. It was pointless trying to object what Akashi clearly already knew to be the truth.

“So it’s safe to say,” Akashi continued. “That you wouldn’t know if receiving aid could be beneficial or not with this, since you haven’t had to deal with an issue like this before.”

_ But I’ve dealt with even worse,  _ he wanted to shout.  _ My mother’s suicide attempt, my brother walking out. I deal with it every day of my life. _

But, like always, he kept silent. Akashi did have a point, sort of. The mystery man was an unknown element in Furihata’s life, possibly more dangerous than anything else he has dealt with.

(And so was Akashi.)

He always liked to pretend that he had control of his life, even though there wasn’t one instance in his life where that was true. And it seemed the Akashi, the ever-knowing emperor, could see right through his façade.

“Kaachan!” Natsu called out. His siblings were waiting impatiently for the two teenagers at the top of the hill. “You’re getting left behind!”

Furihata jolted while Akashi (unsurprisingly) didn’t even flinch. The brown-haired teen scratched the back of his head anxiously.

“We, uh, should probably get going.”

Akashi raised an eyebrow. “Yes, perhaps we should.”

Furihata tried not to dwell on the fact that their arms were brushing the entire walk back.

 

-.-

 

Akashi gave them a ride back to their apartment. JDuring the drive, Furihata turned to the red-haired teen sitting next to him.

“Akashi-kun,” he said softly, just loud enough to catch his attention. “I want you to know. While I doubt there will ever come a day I feel completely comfortable asking for help, it’s…nice knowing that you’re there to give it when I need. I might not ever understand why you’re doing this, and you might never explain it either, but…it is really nice.”

Akashi blinked slowly. “Think nothing of it,” he said, pausing slightly. “And perhaps one day, we can both explain ourselves, Furihata-kun.”

Furihata smiled painfully.

“Perhaps.”

 

-.-

 

Furihata had Akashi let them out a few blocks away from their apartment. Even though the Rakuzan captain insisted it was fine, he didn’t want to test their luck driving an expensive vehicle around in his neighborhood too often.

The twins and Natsu eagerly said their goodbyes while Shouyou just waved, climbing out silently. He hadn’t said anything since the park and Furihata sighed, wishing he had handled everything differently before he let the ginger receive the backlash.

He bowed farewell as he got out. “Thank you again.”

Akashi bowed his head back. “You’re welcome. Take care, Furihata-kun.”

“I will, Akashi-kun”

 

-.-

 

Before he even opened the door, Furihata knew his father was home already. He tried not to visibly panic, instinctively pushing his siblings behind him as he unlocked the door.

Furihata couldn’t recall one night where his father ever came home and no one was there. It just didn’t happen. Dread built up inside him as he tried to picture how this might go down.

He opened the door slowly, partially bracing for an attack. When nothing happened, he got a little braver, pushing it wide open so he could see the interior. His father was sitting at their tiny table, a beer can in one hand and an outdated newspaper in another. Despite the drink, he didn’t appear to be drunk. Small graces, perhaps.

“There you are,” the man grumbled, sneering over the paper. “Was beginning to think you weren’t coming back.”

The man said it so nonchalantly, Furihata had no doubt the man wouldn’t have cared less if they did run away. Probably would’ve preferred it, to be completely honest.

“I had a basketball game, sir,” Furihata stated, trying to keep the attention on himself as he silently ushered his siblings inside. They complied, clearly tuned in to the tenseness of the situation.

“Oh?” his father grunted, taking a swig of his beer. “Did you win?”

“Um, yeah we did.” Furihata hadn’t exactly been around to find out, but he was fairly confident he knew the answer anyway.

His father hummed, turning the page. “Did you play at this time?”

Furihata was surprised his father even knew he was a benchwarmer. “No, sir, I didn’t.”

“Not surprised,” his father scoffed. “I read about that little team of yours, and those kids you play against- the Miracle Freaks, or whatever their name is. No way you could ever stand up against monsters like that.”

_ But I already have,  _ he wanted to say, but instead settled with, “They’re called the Generation of Miracles, sir.”

His father froze, and Furihata forgot how much more terrifying the man was when he was sober. When he was drunk, he was predictable: he’d make a scene, scream a lot, and run away at the slightest resistance. When he was sober, he was controlled, deadly calm and disinterested, and dangerous.

“I didn’t ask you for their name,  _ Kouki, _ ” his father hissed and Furihata flinched, partially expecting the beer can to come flying at his face. “I don’t know when you thought you became so smart that you could correct your own father.”

“He didn’t mean to upset you, sir,” Shouyou argued, stepping away from the rest of the children, who had been silently sneaking to hide in the bedroom. His father whirled on the small ginger, and Furihata almost screamed.

Because while his father may be unreceptive towards Furihata, that was actually him at his nicest, since the brown-haired teen still was his actual son. When it came to the twins and the Hinatas, people not of his blood, he was downright hostile.

“What did you say, boy?” his father spat. Furihata instantly sprinted across the room, putting himself in between the man and his brother.

“It was nothing, Otousan,” he said, trying not to choke on the word. “We’re just going to go to bed now.”

His father huffed but went back to his newspaper and beer, muttering about the disrespectfulness of children these days. Furihata felt like throwing up as he dragged Shouyou into the bedroom and quickly closed and locked the door.

“Oniichan—” the ginger began, likely to defend himself, but Furihata quickly cut him off.

He pulled him in for a strong hug, burying Shouyou’s face in his chest and resting his chin on the boy’s orange locks.

“I know,” he whispered. “I know you’re trying to be brave. I know you’re wanting to help.”

He ran a hand down his brother’s back. Shouyou shook in his hold while tears streamed down Furihata’s face silently. The twins and Natsu watched, frozen and confused, as their two oldest brothers comforted each other.

“Oniisan…” Yukio whispered. Furihata sniffled and rubbed his eyes, smiling shakily.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. We’re okay,” he said, though he knew the only person he was trying to reassure was himself.

The brown-haired child pushed up his glasses, clearly uncertain. “Do…do you need help, Oniisan?”

Furihata felt his heart clench, but despite his aching, he shook his head. “I’m okay. I promise. Why don’t you guys go get ready for bed?”

Yukio still looked hesitant, but Rin took his and Natsu’s hands and led them over to where they kept their pajamas and then into the bathroom. Once the door was closed, Furihata sighed and pulled Shouyou closer, not even minding when the boy wiped his snot on his shirt.

“I just want to help, Oniichan,” the ginger boy whimpered. Furihata brushed the boy’s tears away tenderly.

“I know, Shou-chan. And you have helped, so much in fact. What would I have done without you those two weeks, after all?”

Shouyou chuckled hollowly. “I met these two boys during that time. They helped me with…a problem. They were so cool, Oniichan, and brave too. It didn’t matter that I was a stranger, they came to save me anyway. I thought…what kind of brother am I if I can’t do the same?”

“Shou…” Furihata found himself at a loss for words as he practically squeezed the life out of Shouyou, gently petting his orange hair.

“You shouldn’t have to do it alone, Oniichan. Not anymore,” Shouyou said, sitting back so he could look Furihata in the eye. “You’ve been watching out for me and Natsu since you were nine, and the twins even longer. You’ve been doing it on your own since you were _thirteen_. I want to do more.”

Furihata swallowed down a sob as he lightly cupped his little brother’s face. “And you’ve been doing more than enough. You’re already so brave, Shou-chan. Much braver than I’ll ever be.”

“You’re lying,” Shouyou scowled, wrinkling his nose. Furihata laughed and lightly kissed his forehead.

“No,” he hummed. “I’m not.”

Shouyou still looked skeptical. “Well, Oniichan is the bravest person I know. That’s what Akashi-san said too, when I was upset earlier.”

“He said  _ what _ ?” Furihata squeaked, almost knocking his brother off his lap.

“He said that brave people are the ones who face their fears even when they’re scared. Which is why you’re the bravest person there is,” Shouyou explained, completely oblivious of his brother’s distress.

“I’m not- not brave,” Furihata said, almost hysterically. “I’m the biggest coward in the world. I practically peed my pants the first time I met Akashi-kun, I literally got scared by my own shadow walking home once, I- OW! Shou-chan!”

The pre-teen had grabbed onto his cheeks and started pulling at them harshly. Furihata lightly batted the hands away. “What was that for?”

“Akashi-san said you’d try to say that too, and that I should stop you from doing it.”

Furihata was at a literal loss for words. He had officially lost all capability of forming coherent sentences.

“Kaachan! I can’t reach my toothbrush!”

“Y-Yup.”

Exhibit A.

Flustered, he gently placed Shouyou on the ground and stumbled over to the bathroom. He handed Natsu her toothbrush, brushed down Yukio’s cow-licks, and tucked in the tag on Rin’s shirt. Shouyou came in seconds later and he handed the ginger his pajamas before going to change into his own.

When he came back into the bedroom, his siblings had already crowded on the mattress, leaving an open space for him on the side. Furihata quickly plugged in the phone to let it charge and peaked out into the main room. His father was thankfully passed out on the couch, their previous tussle seemingly forgotten.

Locking the door again just to be safe, Furihata moved over to the mattress. He made sure everyone was well tucked in the blanket before claiming his spot on the bed, right next to the twins.

“Are you okay now, Oniisan?” Yukio whispered. Furihata nodded and gave the brown-haired child a peck on the forehead.

“I will be. Goodnight, Yukio-chan.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just when it was getting all cute and fluffy, I had to bring in the angst :)


	7. Rumors Only Grow (And We Both Know What We Know)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Video chats know no distances and keep no secrets, Kise feels left out, no one is listening to Kagami, Akashi isn’t here to play around on this playground, and Momoi stages a way to many interventions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: stalking and possible allusions to warnings tagged
> 
> POV jumps around a lot this chapter to get a good variety in reactions from the GoM and Furi, hopefully y'all enjoy! Kise is finally brought into the story as promised, and the drama escalates!
> 
> Shoutout to Qikdaelun for being my beta and staying with me despite my crazy schedule! Lots of love!

Furihata had been through a lot of struggles in his life. Probably way more than anyone ever should. He could probably go days listing them all. But unfortunately, he didn’t have days. In fact, he only had hours. Because if he didn’t conquer this current struggle, then he would surely be hung by a rope.

Since when had chemistry become so hard?

He had always been fairly strong at academics; it’s the only reason he had a scholarship. However, with the stress of his work schedule and the looming threat of his somewhat stalker (who had become a lot less stalkerish after the basketball game incident, though Furihata still had trouble sleeping at night because of it), he hardly had any time to study.

He was able to catch up fairly easily in his other classes, but in chemistry, he was drowning. He had failed the past two homework assignments and got a C- on the latest quiz. His teacher kept telling him to come in for tutoring, but he didn’t have time because of basketball practice. Aida had let him off surprisingly easy for missing the game, but he knew he wouldn’t have such a luxury twice.

Then in class today, his teacher pulled him aside and informed him that if he didn’t get in A+ on the upcoming test, he would end with a B in the class and would lose his scholarship.

Which led him to where he was now: sitting at the kitchen table at 11:30 at night, trying to figure out titration calculations. His siblings were in the bedroom, fast asleep, and his father had already stormed out drunk for the night.

His vision started to blur a little, and Furihata slapped his hands against his face, concealing his scream. Why didn’t any of this make sense?

He wished he could call someone for help, but unfortunately, he was the only one out of his friends dumb enough to take Advanced Chemistry. That, and he also didn’t have anyone’s numbers…

But then it hit him. He knew someone insanely smart enough to take Advanced Chemistry, and he had their number…

Later, he would blame it on the stress and sleep deprivation, but the next thing he knew he had pulled out his cell and was listening to the buzzing sound as he waited for the person on the other line to pick up.

_Wait a minute…_

“Hello?” a familiar regal voice said.

_What was he doing?!_

“Ah…I mean, um…” he sputtered.

“Furihata-kun? Is that you?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking, it’s really late and I was just being stupid. I’ll just hang up now…”

“Don’t,” Akashi ordered, and Furihata obediently froze. “Is something wrong? Is the man back?”

“Um, n-no, it’s nothing like that. Really, I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m just a little stressed right now, I’m sorry for bothering you…”

“Furihata-kun. I really don’t like repeating myself.”

Furihata sighed. “You’re going to think I’m dumb…” he muttered but complied anyway. “Well, I’m having a little bit of trouble with, um, with…”

“Yes?”

“Chemistry?”

Silence.

“I’m really sorry Akashi-kun, you probably have your own tests to study for, and I’m just distracting you. I’ll just try to figure it out myself, I’m sure I can…” he panicked, racing his fingers through his hair.

“Nonsense,” Akashi finally said. “I’d be happy to help, Furihata-kun. Hold on, let me hang up and I will switch to video call.”

“Okay?”

Akashi hung up and Furihata squeaked. Why did he do this to himself?

Seconds later, Akashi called back. Furihata anxiously brushed down his hair, hoping he didn’t look too much like a mess, and answered the call.

Akashi, of course, looked as perfect as ever. He appeared to be sitting at a desk in some kind of office (did he really have his own office?), his clothes pristine and his hair unfussed. He looked far too put together when it was almost midnight.

“Ah, Furihata-kun,” the Rakuzan captain greeted politely. “What can I assist you with?”

Still not quite gotten over his shock, Furihata monotonously held up his notes and explained his situation. Akashi listened patiently, his red eyes just as piercing over the phone. When Furihata finally finished explaining his confusion, the red-haired teen began to explain, answering every question Furihata had, and even the ones he didn’t outright ask.

“I think a lot of your confusion came because you didn’t get your units to moles first. I’ve found that if I do that first, the course of action becomes a lot clearer for the remainder of the calculations…”

Half an hour later, and Furihata felt like he knew more than he’d ever need to know about titrations. Akashi had begun asking him elaborate questions he was seemingly coming up with off the top of his head, and the brown-haired teen was excited to find that he could solve most of them with little assistance.

“Wow, Akashi-kun. You’re a really good teacher,” he praised, and he could swear he saw Akashi blush.

“And you are a superb student. You caught on very quickly with little explanation, even for the more advanced problems,” Akashi retorted, and Furihata _knew_ he blushed.

“Yeah, I guess,” he mumbled. “Normally I can figure these things out on my own, but with the stress of…you know, I’ve just been a little overwhelmed lately.”

Akashi paused, looking thoughtful. “I know you have said that you are reluctant to ask for or accept help, but please don’t be so anxious to call next time. I don’t wish to be the cause of your stress as well.”

Furihata looked somewhat akin to a fish out of water. “Ah, of course…thank you, Akashi-kun.”

He opened his mouth, contemplating saying more, but decided against it. The movement did not go unnoticed by Akashi, of course.

“Hmm? Is there something still wrong, Furihata-kun? I don’t mind clarifying anything again if needs be.”

The brown-haired teen shook his head anxiously. “N-No, it’s not that. It’s just…”

Akashi arched an eyebrow, clearly waiting for him to continue. Furihata rubbed his hands together.

“Can we just talk?” he blurted out. When Akashi’s eyes blew wide, he quickly backtracked. “Anou, I’ve just been feeling kind of restless lately and maybe it would feel better for me to talk about it? You don’t have to, I understand it’s really late and you already hear this kind of stuff from my siblings…”

Furihata nervously glanced at the screen and was shocked to find Akashi’s lips curled into a smile. “Of course. As you said, I hear it often from your siblings. I’ve been told I am an excellent listener.”

“Um, thanks,” Furihata said, blushing beet-red. “Goodness, where do I even start?”

 

-.-

 

“And then!” Furihata exclaimed, his throat constricted by laughter. “Coach had us all proclaim the reason we joined the club, and I panicked and said a girl told me too—which isn’t a lie because Natsu got me roped into it—and so the entire basketball club spent the next _seven months_ trying to figure out who my ‘mystery crush’ was. They still bring it up too! I can’t be five feet from one of my female classmates without one of my senpai’s appearing and asking the poor girl if she’s my secret girlfriend!”

Furihata cackled just thinking about his teammate’s antics, and even Akashi chuckled a little. The Rakuzan captain was smiling, teeth and all, and the brown-haired boy couldn’t ignore how his heart stuttered at the sight.

“Even Hyuuga-senpai does it! He’ll scold the other upperclassmen for harassing the girls, but then turn around and give the same girl a lecture about ‘breaking my fragile heart’ or something like that. It’s so embarrassing!”

The two teenagers snickered at the imagery, and Furihata found himself feeling lighter than he had in years. He had forgotten how good it felt to laugh freely, like there wasn’t a care in the world. It seemed, given how relaxed he looked, that Akashi felt the same way.

“Oh, crap, look at the time,” he said, glancing at the numbers at the top of his screen. “It’s almost one-thirty. I’m sorry I kept you up this long, Akashi-kun.”

“Think nothing of it. I’m sure I would’ve been awake at this time anyway,” Akashi said dismissively, like he always did. Furihata smiled, relieved nonetheless, though he was slightly concerned if Akashi was telling the truth. Why would he be up so late on a school night?

“Um. That’s good to hear. Well, I’m going to hang up now. Goodnight, Akashi-kun!”

“Take care, Furihata-kun.”

Furihata ended the call, and he tried not to focus on the pounding of his heart.

 

-.-

 

After much self-deliberation, and analyzing all possible consequences she could think of, Momoi finally decided to organize a group video call with her old friends from middle school. And after even more contemplation, she decided to leave out a particularly major player. She prayed said person, with all his apparent omnipresence and all-knowing personality, would never find out about this secret meeting.

Aomine, since he lived so close by, invited himself to Momoi’s house so he wouldn't have to call in on a different computer. He was sprawled out lazily on the floor while the pink-haired girl anxiously double checked that everyone was ready for the call.

“Why are we doing this again?” the navy-haired boy asked for the hundredth time that day. Momoi tried not to sigh too loudly.

“Because there is something very important I need to tell our friends, and getting you all together is too hard, so video chatting is our only choice,” she explained once again, just as a ringing sound came from her computer speakers. “Now shush! Ki-chan is calling!”

Momoi accepted the call and the yellow-haired boy’s face filled the screen. “Momoicchi! Aominecchi!” Kise greeted. “Am I the first to call in?”

“Yes, though the others should be calling soon,” Momoi answered while Aomine merely grunted.

Kise pouted. “Aominecchi, is that really how you greet your friends?”

“Oh, right. My bad,” Aomine said, raising his arm as if to wave, and promptly flipped Kise off.

“Dai-chan!” Momoi scolded but was then distracted by the notification that Kuroko was calling in. She told the two rowdy basketball players to quiet down as she added Kuroko into the video chat. This time, they were greeted not only by the sight of their old Teiko teammate, but a head of fiery-red hair as well.

Jumping to the worst possible conclusion, Momoi had a heart attack for a whole two seconds before she realized who it was.

“Oh, Kagami-kun. I didn’t know you would be there,” she said. The redhead shrugged.

“Kuroko just showed up at my house and said he needed my computer. Didn’t say why though,” he said, leaning back against the wall. The blue-haired boy in question shrugged unabashedly.

“Kagami-kun’s computer is much nicer than mine,” he stated simply. “Anyway, it is good to see you all again. Momoi-san, I have a feeling I know what you wish to talk about. Will he…?”

“Ah, no,” Momoi answered, while Kise cocked his head.

“What do you mean, Kurokocchi?”

Before anyone could answer the yellow-haired boy, Midorima called in, and Momoi quickly answered it. A fourth screen was added, and this one lacked an ex-Teiko player entirely.

“Shin-chan! I got the video chat to work!” the raven-haired boy called. Midorima appeared seconds later, looking uncomfortable and put-off as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Hello, everyone,” he greeted awkwardly. Aomine finally sat up and snorted condescendingly.

“You couldn’t figure out how to get a simple group video call to work?”

Momoi whacked the boy’s shoulders. “Be nice,” she hissed. “It’s good to see you, Takao-kun, Mido-kun. How’s your Spring season looking so far?”

“We’ll be doing just fine even without our third-years, if that’s what you’re asking,” Takao answered simply. “Now, is this some top-secret Miracle meeting? Because if so, I can get going.”

“It’s okay, Takao-kun! This way Kagami-kun won’t be the only odd one out,” Momoi reassured the raven-haired boy. Takao smiled gratefully while the green-haired teen next to him sighed begrudgingly.

Midorima fixed Momoi with a steady look. “Is there a reason you called us together again? I don’t recall it being anyone’s birthday.”

“I’ll explain once everyone is here. Mukkun said he’d call in soon.”

“Murasakibara? How’d you manage to convince him to bother calling us?” Aomine asked.

Momoi fiddled with her hair. “Well, I may have had to get some help…”

Almost on cue, a call from Himuro came in. Momoi accepted it, adding a fifth screen to the chat. The second-year boy appeared to be in the Yosen dorm rooms alone.

“Tatsuya? Why are you calling in?” Kagami questioned.

“Hey to you too, Taiga,” Himuro greeted before address Momoi. “I managed to corner him in his room with a pile of snacks that should keep him preoccupied enough to stay there. I’m going to go drop my phone in his lap and then get out of here for a little bit, if you don’t mind.”

“Thank you for doing this, Himuro-kun. You can sit in on the chat if you want,” the pinked-haired girl offered, but the older boy just smiled and shook his head.

“Nope, I’m good. This is clearly Miracle business, and I think that’s my cue to go entertain myself with the new anime that dropped.”

The background behind Himuro changed and the dark-haired boy suddenly disappeared off the screen as the phone was dropped in an unsuspecting Murasakibara’s lap. The giant jolted slightly as his features filled the screen.

“Hmm? What’s this, Muro-chin?”

“You’re friends. Talk to them. I’ll be back for my phone in a little bit. Please don’t break it,” Himuro said off camera. The sound of a door opening and closing let everyone know that he had left the room. Murasakibara scowled and picked up the phone tentatively.

“Hello,” he stated uneventfully. Slightly unnerved, the pink-haired girl clapped her hands together.

“Great! We can start now!” she cheered. The boys almost simultaneously shifted uncomfortably, obviously confused.

“Um, Momoicchi?” Kise said. “I think you’re forgetting one _very_ important person, and it’s not Kurokocchi for once…”

The group glanced around uncomfortably. Aomine was looking at her like she had a third eye or something.

“Ah, well, that’s actually what I’m here to talk to you about,” she said. “Tetsu-kun and I learned something very concerning a few weeks ago, and I felt it best we discussed it together as a group so we can help Akashi-kun.”

There was a long pause of silence.

“Help Akashi?” Takao repeated. “I know I’m not ‘one of you guys’ or anything, but are we talking about the same person here? Since when does the Akashi Seijuurou need help?”

The other rainbow-colored boys (sans Kuroko) nodded in agreement, clearly confused and looking for answers. The pink-haired girl anxiously brushed her hair with her fingers.

“Well, this may sound a little strange, but Kuroko and I met a very peculiar child, and we think she might have some relation to Akashi…”

She went into a brief explanation of getting the phone call from Kuroko and meeting the strange, orange-haired girl named Natsu who wouldn’t tell them anything about her mysterious older brother, who apparently played basketball as well. Kuroko piped up, explaining that Natsu had managed to spot him on the street and seemed to recognize him, even though he had no idea who she was.

“I offered to let her use my phone to call her brother,” Kuroko said. “And when she was done, my phone said it recognized the number as Akashi-kun’s backup phone.”

A beat of silence passed.

“Eh? That’s totally freaky,” Kise commented, while Kagami looked like he was about to explode.

“Wait! You had a run in with a little ginger kid that knew Akashi as well?” he gaped. The whole group jolted and looked at him like he was speaking Norwegian. Meanwhile, Aomine yawned and leaned back against Momoi’s couch.

“Oh, you mean the jumping kid?” the tanned boy added. Momoi gaped.

“Jumping kid?” she repeated, and Aomine simply shrugged, like this wasn’t some mind-blowing revelation.

“Is it possible we ran into the same child, Kagami-kun?” Kuroko asked. The redhead shook his head.

“No, the kid we met was a boy, I think in middle school even though he was freaking tiny. If I remember right, he said his name was Shouyou…”

Aomine nodded. “Yeah, we ran into him at the old court when we went to go play some street basketball. When we offered to teach him, he mentioned an ‘Akashi-san’ saying he’d coach him or whatever.”

“Wait. Pause,” Takao interrupted. “So, what you’re saying is that Kuroko and Momoi, and Kagami and Aomine both ran into separate peculiar orange-haired children that mysteriously seem close enough to Akashi that they mention his name around strangers.” There was a slight pause while everyone let that settle in. “Okay, I’m just gonna say it. Does Akashi have some super-secret family that lives in Tokyo that we never knew about?”

Everyone turned to Midorima. It was no secret that the green-haired boy was closest to Akashi out of them all. If anyone were to know about Akashi top-secret, long-lost relatives, it would be him.

The green-haired teen pushed up his glasses. “I don’t know about any orange-haired children,” he said. “But I did happen to have an encounter three weeks ago with a mysterious child that knew Akashi as well.”

The video chat exploded in a riot. Kise started screaming about conspiracies, while Kagami’s flailing arms almost hit Kuroko’s head. Murasakibara seemed to be only one who wasn’t reacting, munching on some treat silently.

Momoi slapped her hand to her forehead. “ _Another_ child? And you’re positive this one isn’t related to the others?” she asked.

Midorima shrugged. “Positive, no, but the child I met had brown hair and said his name was Yukio. I met him playing shogi at the park, and he used one of Akashi’s specialty moves. Yukio even admitted to that someone named Akashi taught him it, and that he one day wants to beat Akashi.”

The basketball players winced sympathetically while Aomine snorted. “Clearly it can’t be our Akashi if they boy thinks he’ll ever win against him. I think it’s just a coincidence, and we don’t need to make a big deal out of it.”

“No way, Aominecchi. One time is strange, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a _pattern._ Something totally fishy is going on! Oh, we should film this, this would be an awesome documentary to kick off my future acting career!” Kise said, pulling out his phone.

“Ki-chan! We need to focus! Something is clearly not right, and as Akashi-kun’s friends and previous teammates it’s our responsibility to figure it out,” Momoi argued, and the blond-haired boy begrudgingly put the device away again.

“I hardly see how this concerns us,” Midorima countered. “This is clearly Akashi’s business. There is no benefit for us sticking our noses where they don’t belong.”

The group quieted down, contemplating the two arguments. Murasakibara, who up to this point had yet to give any input, scarfed down another bag of pastries and sighed, as if disappointed in what he was eating.

“Richin also said he knew an Akashi-san,” he mumbled, mostly to himself. Momoi perked up.

“Richin?” she repeated. Murasakibara nodded slowly.

“He was a tiny human I met a few days after Kuroko’s birthday. He gave me snacks,” he hummed.

“Wait!” Kise wailed. “So you’re saying that everyone else got to meet a mini-Akashicchi child _except_ me? No fair! Kagamicchi isn’t even one of us and he still met one!”

“Huh? What’d I do?” Kagami grunted.

“Why are there so many children that seem to know Akashi-san?” Kuroko asked, ignoring Kise and Kagami.

“Maybe he’s doing some public outreach with a local orphanage or something for the Akashi Group?” Takao suggested.

Momoi shook her head. “No, if that were the case, then it would’ve been all over the news. The Akashi Group wouldn’t make a public-relations move without guaranteeing every news channel in Japan was there to broadcast it.”

The group went silent for a second, contemplating the possibilities and trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. Momoi’s mind was racing, trying to analyze all the facts at once and make sense of what was going on, but nothing added up. Why were four children from Tokyo seemingly very close with Akashi? Why were they all just now meeting them? What was the red-haired boy’s angle?

Suddenly, Kagami spoke up.

“Maybe,” he speculated. “He ran into these kids on accident when he was visiting or whatever, and he decided to take them, like, under his wing. I don’t know about you guys, but the kid I met was pretty damn cute. Kind of hard to resist wanting to protect kids like that.”

“That’s just stupid,” Aomine instantly retorted. “Akashi’s not around in Tokyo long enough to form a bond with kids, and even if he was, he’s Akashi-Freaking-Seijuurou. He doesn’t do things like kids or cute stuff.”

“It’s just a theory,” Kagami argued, scowling.

“And, as I said, it was stupid.”

“Aomine-kun does have a point, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko said calmly. “Akashi-san hardly does anything without an end goal. I can’t seem to believe that he would invest time with four seemingly random children without having a purpose.”

“What are you suggesting, Tetsu-kun?” Momoi asked.

“Well, we all know how Akashi-san’s father is. It’s no secret he wants to guarantee his legacy will survive through a proper heir. It’s also no secret that Akashi-san has never shown romantic acclimation towards anyone before, especially women,” Kuroko said.

“What are you trying to say, Kurokocchi?” Kise asked. “That, what, Akashicchi decided he wanted to remain celibate for life but his father demanded he still has an heir so he adopted four kids from Tokyo?”

There was a long draw of silence again amongst the group, with varying ranges of contemplation and expression. Kise tapped his finger against his chin.

“Actually. I kinda believe it.”

Aomine nodded as he collapsed into his seat completely. “Yeah, me too.”

Even Midoriya looked like he agreed with the theory, though he tried to hide his nod by adjusting his glasses.

“Whoa, no way. You guys can’t be serious!” Kagami objected. “I get that Akashi is crazy and all—the dude freaking tried to stab me with scissors—but you can’t possibly believe he’s taken on some kids and is like, having them compete to be the next head of the Akashi Group? Right?”

“We’re not saying they’re competing,” Kuroko corrected. “But perhaps they chose multiple possible candidates to guarantee they find the best possible heir. If you were to know Akashi-san’s father at all, this really doesn’t sound so outrageous.”

“I still find that really hard to believe,” Kagami muttered, clearly still reeling from the fact that it seemed like everyone at least vaguely accepted this theory (Well, except Murasakibara. He was too absorbed in eating his fifteenth bag of chips to pay any attention to their conversation).

Momoi was shocked to find that she could sort of see the logic in Kuroko’s theory. While she still had hope that Akashi and his father’s company wouldn’t have to reach so far, she had no doubt in her mind that they would if needs be. That was just the way they functioned.

Takao seemed to be the only other skeptic. “Okay then. Say Kuroko’s theory is correct. Why would Akashi leave the kids in Tokyo? I mean, Momoi said that Natsu seemed to go to a local elementary school. It doesn’t make sense for Akashi’s ‘potential heirs’ to live so far away from him.”

“Perhaps it’s a kind of distancing technique?” Momoi said. “Not all four children can be the heir. Maybe they want to evaluate their progress and potential from afar, so they know whose talent is the rawest without Akashi’s influence and guidance?”

“That brings up a new question,” argued the raven-haired boy. “It sounds like the kids know Akashi very well, and think highly of him enough to bring him up so often. If they’re trying to keep a distance, why do the kids seem to hero worship him?”

“Easy,” Kise countered. “Have you ever seen a celebrity act towards their fans? They keep themselves higher and aloof 90% of the time, avoiding contact with them, but that 10% they are around, they’re royalty. They act super sweet and like the most amazing people in the world, making people fall in love with them even more with the most minimal of contact.”

Kagami crossed his arms. “Yeah? Well, explain why all their ages seem to be different? Why is he comparing a thirteen-year-old to a six-year-old?

“Increased diversity promises better results,” Midoriya grumbled under his breath.

“W-Well then describe why they’re going to average schools in an average part of Tokyo. Not very Akashi-like,” the red-haired tried, obviously getting discouraged.

“Many great leaders come from humble beginnings. It’d be a clever strategy,” Momoi countered.

“Oh yeah? W-Well, I…” Kagami’s face scrunched up in frustration. “Maybe all of this is true, but it doesn’t deny that the theory is still crazy. I’d be more likely to believe that these kids are the family of someone he met in Tokyo that he became good friends with or something.”

Kuroko patted his friend’s arm calmingly, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Kagami-kun, but you really do say the most outlandish things.”

Aomine snorted. “Seriously man. I get that Akashi is no longer the crazy version or whatever, but he’s not _that_ nice. Suggesting he made a friend randomly while in Tokyo is about as likely as him dating someone.”

Momoi nodded, almost shuttering at the thought. Could you imagine such a thing?

“Well, I say this pretty much means the conspiracy confirmed,” Kise stated. “The next question is, what are we going to do about it?”

“I think a better question is what _can_ you do about it? It’s not you can go walk up to the kids again and ask them,” Takao argued, but paused when he saw everyone’s expressions. He held his hands up calmingly. “Guys. Please think this through. We live in Tokyo. Running into the same stranger twice isn’t something so easily accomplished.”

“Yeah, but if we go to the school Kuroko and Momoi met the little girl, we could easily find her, right?” Kise argued. The pink-haired girl shook her head sternly.

“I’m sorry Ki-chan, but walking into an elementary school for no reason isn’t a simple task. It’s their job to protect the children from strange outsiders. We could get in a lot of trouble if we got caught.”

The blond-haired boy pouted visibly, while Aomine pulled out his phone.

“Well here’s an idea,” he argued. “Why don’t we just call Akashi and ask him? No need to tiptoe around for answers this way.”

His suggestion was met by a chorus of baffled chuckles.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not trying to die today,” Takao joked. Aomine looked like he was about to snap back, but Momoi but a hand on arm placidly.

“Please stop trying to fight everyone, Dai-chan,” she asked, pouting. Her childhood friend grumbled but backed down considerably.

“Fine,” he said. “But if nobody else has any better ideas, I’m doing it.”

 

-.-

 

Twenty minutes later, no one else could think up a plan that wouldn’t get them accused of being child predators, and Kuroko was calling Akashi on his phone (he was the only one who wouldn’t chicken out in the end).

After the second ring, Akashi picked up. “Hello, Kuroko. What can I help you with?”

“Akashi-san,” Kuroko greeted neutrally, making sure the call was on speaker. “There’s something I need to ask you.”

“Oh?”

Kuroko paused, glancing up at the video chat for a second, before saying, “Do you perhaps have affiliations in Tokyo in the form of four young children?”

Kagami choked violently on his spit while Aomine snorted so harshly snot went flying everywhere.

“What?” Akashi said in his pointed tone that was a hint to most that they needed to choose their next words very carefully.

Kuroko never cared much for that tone.

“There seems to be an oddly numerous amount of children in Tokyo who claim to know you quite personally. Four to be exact. Can you explain this,  please?”

There was a short pause. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kuroko.”

“You’re lying!” Kise shouted suddenly, making everyone jump. The blond-haired boy was covering his mouth in shock, as if he hadn’t meant to shout at their old captain.

“Is Kise there with you?” Akashi asked incredulously.

Kuroko sighed. “He’s listening in over video chat. They all are, Akashi-san.”

Another pause. “Is that so.”

“Akashi-kun,” Momoi finally spoke up. “We have been talking, and we all discovered some really weird connections with you. We were just hoping you would clarify it for us, please?”

“Hmm,” the Rakuzan captain hummed. “I apologize, but I don’t think I will. And I would hope that in the future, Satsuki, that you would stop involving people in other’s personal business that clearly doesn’t involve you.”

Without another word, Akashi hung up, leaving the entire video chat in shock. Kagami gulped very audibly and turned to his blue-haired companion.

“Did he just use Momoi’s first name?” he asked.

Kuroko pocketed his phone. “Yup.”

“Oh,” the redhead said. “Shit.”

 

-.-

 

Midorima thought his old teammates were all being quite outrageous about the situation. Since when had they ever cared what the Akashi Group did? And who were they to try and stop them?

Did he find the whole situation suspicious and unnerving? Absolutely. Was he going to confront Akashi about it personally?

Over his dead body.

So while the rest of the Miracles were hung up on the mysterious children surrounding their ex-leader, Midorima chose to go on with his life, planning on never thinking of or seeing the odd boy from the park ever again.

It was only fitting, of course, that he would be the first and only one to run into his Akashi-child again.

He was at a public library in Tokyo in search of his lucky item for the day: a hardcover, English translation of the 25th-anniversary publication of _The Princess Bride._ He had already visited three other libraries with no success, and after calling several more, he finally found one across town with the book in question. So, as per usual, he made Takao drive him all the way over there.

“I can’t wait until I can drive a car,” the raven-haired boy said, panting and sweating after they arrived outside the building. Midorima grunted and went inside, not bothering to wait for Takao to catch his breath.

He was walking up to the front desk to ask for the book when he saw a flash of brown hair on a small child body. Midorima froze. There was no way, was there…?

The small boy, as if sensing the eyes, turned around and blue eyes made contact with green. Yukio looked just as shocked as he did, giving the green giant a gummy smile and eagerly running over to him.

“Midorima-san!” the child called out, stopping right in front of him. “What are you doing here? Do you go to school nearby? Do you go to Seirin?”

“Seirin?” Midorima repeated, wondering why the child would mention that school of all the ones in the area. “Ah, no. I am just here to pick up a novel.”

“Oh, which one? My teacher said I should start taking reading suggestions from others because I’m so far ahead of my class. I just got done reading this one,” Yukio rambled, holding up a copy of the Japanese translation of _Crime and Punishment._ An interesting recommend to give a child—and also Akashi’s favorite book of all time.

“…interesting choice,” Midorima finally answered. “Typically, even advanced readers your age are exploring large popular novels like Harry Potter.”

“Oh, I read those years ago,” answered Yurio. Of course he did.

“Actually, I was hoping to find some really good books on medical science. I want to be a doctor one day,” the brown-haired child admitted, and Midorima perked up slightly.

“Is that so?” the green-haired teen asked. “If that’s the case, I recommend you read—”

“Hey! Shin-chan!”

A chorus of shushes followed, but Takao didn’t even seem slightly fazed as he approached. “Are you ready to go? We need to start heading back now if we’re going to make it to school on time.” His eyes widened when he noticed the small child standing a few feet away from Midorima. “Oh. Who’s this?”

“I’m Yukio,” the child answered shyly, stepping to the side as if he were trying to subtly hide behind the green giant’s leg. From the look on Takao’s face, it was clear he thought it was adorable, and Midorima sighed. Great. Just what he needed.

“Yukio, huh?” Takao repeated knowingly. “I take it you know Shin-chan?”

“I know Midorima-san, yes. I beat him at shogi,” the child responded, much to Midorima’s despair.

Takao’s face lit up, smiling wickedly. “You did?”

The child grinned awkwardly and glanced around. His eyes must have passed over a clock, because his face instantly shifted to shock as he quickly dropped his book in the return pile.

“I’m going to be late! I’m sorry, Midorima-san, Midorima-san’s friend, but my brother is probably waiting for me!” Yukio rushed and sprinted for the doors, leaving the two teenagers in a state of shock.

Once the child was far from sight, Takao broke out into laughter. “Oh man, I can’t believe that just happened. You were the one who was like ‘we should just listen to Akashi and forget about the children’ when everyone else was losing their minds, and then you end up being the one who meets his kid again. Ah, I love the universe.”

Midorima scrunched his nose and turned around irritably to go pick up his book. “I’m glad you find it so entertaining,” he grumbled.

“Oh, lighten up, Shin-chan. Don’t you see the irony?”

“I see it, yes. That doesn’t mean I enjoy it.”

“Pffft, you’re so serious all the time.”

Midorima chose to ignore his friend’s non-stop giggling as he thanked the desk worker for bringing him his book. It wasn’t until he turned around and saw Takao’s face that he realized the raven-haired boy had long since stopped laughing.

“What’s wrong?” he voiced. Takao’s keen eyes were locked off to the side of Midorima, and his face was uncharacteristically tense.

“I thought I was just seeing weird things when we were talking to that kid,” Takao mumbled, mainly to himself. Midorima was only more confused.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t be obvious about it,” Takao instructed. “But slowly turn your head and look at your 4:00.”

Midorima, still entirely perplexed and at this point slightly annoyed, did as he was instructed. He turned his head, looking over his shoulder, but saw nothing but bookshelves and fellow patrons.

“There’s nothing there, Takao,” he snapped.

“Look at the side seated area in front of the shelves.”

Midorima’s eyes shifted slightly downwards, and almost flinched when he saw it: a man, sitting alone with an abandoned book in his lap. His sunglasses were pulled down to his nose, revealing his eyes that were locked coldly on the teenage duo. Midorima’s green eyes made contact with the penetrating blue one’s of the stranger, and he felt a shiver run down his spine when the man smirked.

“Uh,” Takao said, grabbing on Midorima’s arm, and the giant was too stunned to shake him off. “Something tells me this conspiracy thing just got a lot more intense.”

 

-.-

 

“Huh? Did you just say someone was watching you?”

“That’s what it appeared to be, yes,” Midorima clarified, adjusting his phone. Momoi, on the other end of the line, hummed to herself.

“I’m starting to get concerned, Mido-kun. I really think we should do something,” the girl argued.

“Akashi has already made it quite clear he doesn’t want us to have any part of this. I highly doubt he’ll allow us to do anything.”

“All the more reason to stage an intervention!”

Midorima pinched the bridge of his nose. “And how are you going to do that? If you try to call him, he’ll likely hang up again, and he doesn’t live close enough for you to corner him.”

“Corner him…” Momoi gasped suddenly. “That’s it! Thanks, Mido-kun!”

She hung up before the green-haired teen could get another word in. He closed his eyes irritably and let his phone drop onto the desk below. It loud clattering sound made Takao nearly fall out of his seat, and the raven-haired boy peered over curiously.

“I take it the call went splendidly?” he teased. Midorima practically growled.

“If Akashi’s wrath doesn’t kill us all,” he hissed. “I will make it my personal mission by the time this is over to end you myself.”

“Ah, so serious, Shin-chan.”

 

-.-

 

“Did you hear Touou scheduled a practice match against Rakuzan this weekend?” Furihata asked Kuroko one day while they were shelving books together. The invisible boy paused and eyed his teammate strangely.

“Momoi mentioned it to me, I believe, though it was very recent. How did you hear about it, Furihata-kun?” the blue-haired boy asked.

Furihata blinked, flustered. “What? U-Um, I mean a f-friend from Kyoto mentioned it to me? We’re going to meet up after the match.”

“You have a friend who goes to Rakuzan?”

“Um. No?”

Kuroko arched an eyebrow. He knew Furihata had always been a little squeamish, but it seemed recently his nervousness had spiked. He’d even been skipping out on practices and games without explanation, concerning everyone on the team.

“Furihata-kun,” Kuroko finally said, deciding to change the subject. “What do you do when someone recognizes you, but you do not recognize them back?”

“Huh? That’s a strange question,” the brown-haired teen replied, returning his attention to sorting through books. “I guess I wouldn’t really know. Most of the time I’m on the other side of the problem. A lot of people don’t remember my name. Especially girls. And lab partners.”

Kuroko gave his friend a blank stare, and Furihata coughed awkwardly. “I mean. Why do you ask?”

The blue-haired teen shrugged. “There’s a person I ran into recently who acted as if they were acquainted with me, but I could not recall ever meeting them. It has left me quite unsettled.”

“Maybe it’s someone we played before? They might’ve been second string, so you wouldn’t have seen them as much.”

“I highly doubt it, since this stranger was female.”

Furihata paused in what he was doing before smiling widely. “Aw, does Kuroko have fangirls finally? Kagami is going to be thrilled he won’t be the only one breaking girls’ hearts.”

Kuroko barely acknowledged his teammate’s teasing. “I would be quite concerned if that was the case. If I’m not mistaken, this girl looked like she was only a five-year-old.”

Furihata ungracefully choked on his spit and dropped all the books he was holding on the ground. “W-What did you say?”

“The person I met was a little girl,” Kuroko repeated, leaning down to help pick up the books. “She was quite distinct, too. Bright orange hair, bubbly attitude. I don’t understand how I could have forgotten meeting her.”

When Kuroko stood back up, he was greeted by the sheet-white face of his friend, looking near collapse. “Furihata-kun? Are you alright?”

The brown-haired boy jolted away when Kuroko touched his shoulder. “Me? Oh, I’m fine, totally fine. Everything’s great. Look, I’m afraid I don’t know what to tell you, that’s a _really_ weird situation. I think I’m gonna leave early, if you don’t mind. I hope you problem your solve, bye!”

Furihata sprinted out of the library, leaving Kuroko to wonder what the hell just happened. Maybe he should ask Momoi to stage an intervention for Furihata next.

 

-.-

 

“Akashi-kun!” Momoi called out as both teams began to clean up after the game. “Akashi-kun! Wait up!”

The red-haired teen stopped mid-stride and turned around. “Yes, Momoi-kun?” he asked.

“Um,” the pink-haired girl began, rubbing her palms together nervously. “A couple of us were planning on getting together and getting Maji Burger after the game? Would you like to join us?”

She gestured behind her where Kuroko, Kagami, Kise, and Aomine were already waiting. Akashi glanced over and frowned, adjusting the duffle on his shoulder.

“While I am grateful for the invite, I’m afraid I’m tight on time today. I’m supposed to be meeting up with someone very soon.”

Momoi paused, startled. Who in Tokyo could Akashi possibly be meeting up with? The thought just made her even more anxious.

“Please, Akashi-kun? We haven’t seen you in so long, and probably won’t for a while. Just for a little bit?”

Akashi hesitated and seemed to be contemplating it. Momoi held her breath, praying with all her might he would accept. He had to accept. She had the intervention planned out and everything.

“Fine,” Akashi finally said. “It must be quick, however. I cannot be late for my meeting.”

 

-.-

 

After the group finally settled down, Momoi interlocked her fingers and turned to Akashi. “Akashi-kun. I need you to know that we didn’t exactly just come here to eat.”

“I know,” Akashi replied instantly, his eyes sharp and calculating as if he were on the court. Momoi tried not to flinch back and cleared her throat.

“W-Well, okay then,” she said. “Akashi-kun. We called you a little while back about something we were concerned about.”

“I recall,” Akashi said, his voice eerily cool and controlled. Momoi gulped and felt her throat completely close off. Kise, who sat next to her nudged her and tried to get her to respond, but she couldn’t.

Luckily (unluckily?) for her, Aomine did not have a similar sense of self-preservation.

“Well, if you know, then cut the crap, Akashi. We already asked you about these weird kids, and this time you can’t just hang up to get out of it,” the navy-haired boy snapped. “It’s time you told us what the hell is up.”

Akashi’s eye twitched, and it felt like everyone in the room stopped breathing. Kise inched lower in his chair, and Kuroko seemed to be utilizing Kagami’s larger body as a shield.

“I also recall,” Akashi began slowly. “That I informed you all to mind your own business. This situation does not involve you, and you have no right to be concerned.”

“We have every right to be concerned!” Kagami snapped back. Akashi’s narrowed eyes slid over to the other red-haired boy.

“And why would that be the case?”

“I, uh, well,” Kagami sputtered before pointing desperately to Momoi. “Tell him about that thing you said Midorima told you about.”

All heads turned to the pink-haired girl in question, and Akashi raised an eyebrow expectantly. Trying to regain her cool, Momoi tucked her hair behind her ears and sucked in a deep breath.

“Mido-kun had another run-in with the strange child he met a while back,” she explained. “Takao was with him this time, and he said that there was a very concerning person who seemed to be stalking the child. We’re all reasonably concerned about these children’s safety, Akashi-kun.”

Akashi froze in obvious shock—an unsettling look for someone who was normally so in control. It was clear their suspicions were justified based on the reaction; Akashi wouldn’t be this visibly worried if they were just speculating about nothing.

A phone vibrated, disrupting the moment and knocking Akashi to his senses. He glanced down at his device and frowned.

“I’m afraid I’ve overstayed my visit. I must be leaving now,” he said, standing up briskly.

“Akashi-san,” Kuroko called out just as their old captain began to walk away. “I have one more question.”

The red-haired boy paused and irritably glanced over his shoulder. “Yes?”

Kuroko stood up so he could stare Akashi directly in the eye. “If you're so set on others not being worried about this,” he said, “then why is it such a concern for you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know I took a bit of an extended break after getting in such a good groove. I'm still unfortunately in high school (senior year finally!) and I'm in marching band in Texas, which translates to "I don't get a single day off from the end of July to the beginning of November". Yesterday I had two competitions in one day, which is why this update is coming on a Sunday and not a Saturday.
> 
> I've started to get more comfortable with my schedule, so I hope to give more consistent updates, but it really is all dependent on how well my school, band, yearbook, and work schedules play out. I refuse to stop writing, however! It has been my goal to finish this story before I graduate, and I am determined to accomplish it!
> 
> Hope y'all liked this chapter. I have so much respect for authors who write involving all the GoM constantly because it is SO hard to fit in all these personalities and do them justice. The struggle is real!
> 
> Next update is the chapter I'm most excited for (yet kind of dreading because it'll be tough to write)...Akashi's POV! We'll get a glimpse of his thoughts on everything that has happened so far in this story, his motivations, and little hints of what's to come! 
> 
> I'll see y'all then!


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